Snake's Legacy
by Shy Whisper Of Life
Summary: Sasuke's back. He's allowed to stay, put under the watch of the head ANBU, whom everyone trusts: the snake. No one's ever seen her face but Naruto, until on a mission, her mask breaks. Sasuke finds Snake to be far from whom he expected. Not just SasuHina
1. He's Back!

**(A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first multi-chapter story that I've written, so please go easy on me. I like this one, which is rare, because I never like my writings, so please tell me what you think. I don't own Naruto, sadly. If I did, do you really think I'd be writing this fanfic? R&R, onegai!)**

Chapter 1: He's Back!

The raven haired young man had been living in the snake's hideout for sixteen long, harsh years. His hair, once longer, now ruggedly framed his face. It was still styled similarly to his former, childish one, but before, he had looked younger with his hair style. Now, nothing could hide his many years, not even his hair. What had made him seem innocent before could no longer be mistaken for such. He was a murderer, and nothing could hide it.

His apparel was very different from his previous clothing. More styled to the tastes of his shishou, Orochimaru. The white, open-chested shirt was tucked into a blueish piece of cloth wrapped around his torso. The cloth was kept around him by a thick purple ribbon bound in a tight loop, with coal black pants underneath.

Sasuke had beaten Orochimaru in a battle, killing the man while he was down. There was nothing more he could learn from the downed man. The Uchiha toyed with the idea of returning to Konoha, before casting it to the back of his mind. If he ever decided to return, all he would have to do would be to make sure they knew he was the one who killed the snake sannin. That way he could gain favor with the leaf, should he decide to return.

Sasuke fought his way out of the stronghold, killing at least half a dozen Oto nin and mortally wounding many others.

Before he could return to Konoha, however, he wanted to search out his brother to kill him. He searched throughout the continent for signs of the elder Uchiha.

It mattered not where he went, though, for no one had heard anything from the elder Uchiha for a long while. It was almost as though the man had fallen off the face of the earth.

Finally, having given up on finding his brother after two grueling years of failed searching, he returned to his former home, Konohagakure. He walked through the gates in the late afternoon, and was immediately recognized by the guards.

"Uchiha Sasuke! You may go no further!" One of them shouted. He was not a new guard, the raven haired boy observed. He may have been wrong, but he thought the one whom had spoken was called Hagane Kotetsu.

That man's black hair was spiked in all directions, falling around his Konoha headband in layers. He had a soul patch on his chin, and a bandage draped over his nose and cheeks. His dark eyes were narrowed in suspicion as he leapt into a battle stance. His green flak jacket and blueish pants were standard issue for all ninja over the rank of gennin, although many chose not to wear their run-of-the-mill, stereotypical outfits.

The youngest Uchiha stood impassively as they warily watched his movements. He took a single step forward, and they reacted by drawing their weapons and sinking more surely into their battle stances. Still, Sasuke did not react.

"I have killed Orochimaru and wish to return to my home," he said coolly. The guards still looked wary, no matter that he claimed he had killed Orochimaru; he was still a traitor and a murderer of innocents.

"You must talk to Hokage-sama. It is up to him whether or not you can stay. Him and the Council members anyway." Sasuke recognized the one that spoke. If he remembered correctly, it was Kamizuki Izumo.

The man's brown hair was flattened under a Konoha symbol cloth that was more of a hat than a head band. His hair covered his right eye, but his left was narrowed, as was Kotetsu's. His outfit was also that of standard issue, but his undershirt covered his chin, not quite moving so far up his face as Kakashsi's, but similar.

'_Him'? I thought Tsunade-sama was Hokage. She must have stepped down._ Sasuke pondered on this fact, wondering who the Rokudaime could be and how he would react.

Kotetsu and Izumo guardedly led Sasuke up the steps of the Hokage Tower. The latter of the three had allowed his hands to be roped together with chakra draining cuffs before the two former men had let him past the gate's threshold. They walked up to the Hokage's office and Kotetsu knocked firmly on the door. "Hokage-sama?"

A man's voice called from the other side of the door. "Enter."

Upon entering, Sasuke was stunned, but showed no surprise on his pale face. "Hn. So you finally made it to Hokage, Dobe."

"Idiot! You walk back into the village, claiming you want to stay, then show such disrespect to our Hokage and expect him to let you do so?" The brown haired guard fumed emotively as he pulled a kunai from the pouch at his thigh. It twirled threateningly between his fingers for a moment before coming to rest, point facing outward, at his chest.

"That's enough, Izumo," Naruto said, watching Sasuke intently. His mixed emotions did not appear on his face.

"Hokage-sama," He replied submissively, replacing his kunai while spearing the Uchiha avenger with the metaphorical daggers of a sharp glare.

"So I assume you want me to let you stay, Uchiha?" Naruto asked, watching his former-friend's reaction to the formal tone and name.

"Hai, D- ano, Hokage-sama." Sasuke gritted out through clenched teeth. He had been close to calling him Dobe again, but thought better of it. The guards seemed very protective of the Kyuubi vessel now. Before he became Hokage, they couldn't have cared less whether he lived or died.

"Well, as much as I'd like to trust you the way I did before you left, the safety of my village comes before my feelings. You may stay the night with an ANBU guard while I talk it over with my advisors." He folded his hands in front of his mouth, contemplating the person he would send with the man before him.

_Naruto has really changed. I don't remember him having such self-control. I honestly thought he would accept that I had come back for real and would not betray the village again. _Sasuke thought, his eyes narrowing at the new set back in his plan of return.

"Snake-sama will be your escort and ANBU guard for today and tomorrow. Kotetsu, go fetch her for me, onegai." Naruto waved his hand toward the man, gesturing dismissal.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The black haired man disappeared.

"So what made you decide to come back, Uchiha? Better yet, what makes you so sure we'll accept you back into the village?" The blonde's attention returned to the raven haired man before his desk.

"I killed Orochimaru. There was nothing more I could learn from him, so I rid the world of the threat he posed and his powerful influence." His disdainful, carefree tone was flippant, as though the information he divulged was unimportant.

"So that makes you worthy of our trust? The fact that you killed your sixteen-year master, that you turned on him just as quickly as you did us, makes you even less worthy. What do you think Snake-sama?" Naruto asked, frustrated with the lack of emotion from the Uchiha. A woman, whom Sasuke had not even noticed because she had made no sound upon her entry, sat on the window sill and answered his question.

The svelte woman, clothed in ANBU garb stated her opinion in an empty, emotionless voice. "I believe that means he never really had any ties to the man. The fact that he came back here when he could have gone somewhere no one knew him, to start over, shows that he wants our trust back. He could have gone to a secluded village and started with a clean slate, but it seems that he came here, despite all the misdeeds he has committed."

Sasuke sighed imperceptibly in relief. It seemed this ANBU woman would assure Naruto that he meant no harm, and maybe even give him favor with the villagers.

He took the momentary pause in conversation to study the woman who was vouching for him. Her tatoo was present on the underside of her left writst, which she deftly covered the moment his eyes locked on the black ink. Her deep indigo colored hair draped over her shoulder in waves as she moved, reaching all the way down to her belly button. Her black shirt ended just above her hair line, and her equally black cloth pants ended just below her knees.

Though her snake ANBU mask obscured his observance of her face, he could tell that she was what others would consider beautiful. Her fingers and hands were slim, yet he knew that they could kill just as easily as they could pour tea, seeing as she was an ANBU kunoichi. The phrase '_dainty and deadly'_ came to mind when he studied her.

When she spoke, Sasuke began to doubt that she was his metaphorical saving grace. "Then again, he may only be trying to trick you into letting him into the village so that Orochimaru can gather information on Konoha. There is just as much of a chance that he is lying as there is of him telling the truth." Maybe she wanted to hurt his reputation instead. That thought idly crossed his mind.

"Alright. I will let him stay for the night." Naruto brought his attention back to his former friend after speaking to the woman as though he wasn't there. "I will discuss this issue with my other advisors and tell you whether or not you may stay, Uchiha. In the mean time, Snake-sama, you are in charge of him. If something happens, you know what to do."

The snake-masked ANBU nodded and turned to Sasuke. "Let's go," she said, then turned back to the Hokage and bowed, "Hokage-sama," with her voice never once betraying her feelings.

"One moment, onegai. Snake-sama, you will be accompanied to the Uchiha District by your apprentice. This is to be training for her. She is in charge of him until you get there. Is this clear, Uchiha?" Naruto asked, directing the final bit to the raven haired man.

"Hai." Sasuke wondered why Naruto was giving the ANBU's apprentice the mission to escort him home. To him, it seemed like an extremely simple mission for an ANBU-in-training. Then again, he had no idea how the village worked anymore. The fact that he was considered a dangerous captive never crossed his mind.

Sasuke turned to walk out of the office and noticed immediately that Snake was following him instead of walking at his side, as he assumed she would. "Why are you back there?" He questioned disdainfully.

"I am in no way associated with you other than my mission. If I walk in front of you, you can slip away. I will not be seen as your companion by walking beside you, but as your guard, by walking behind. We will meet my apprentice at the exit." Behind him, she walked as rigidly as she spoke.

"You can relax, it's not like I'm going to run away. Either way, I would try to gain the trust of the villagers before I tried anything. I'm going to gain Naruto's trust back, and the trust of the village," he said after a few moments of walking in tense silence. The woman was unnerving, though he would never admit such a thing.

"I do not relax. An ANBU cannot relax while on a mission. That is how so many get killed. Whether on an escort mission, or watching a traitor, it matters not. One must always be prepared." They reached the door leading out of the Hokage Tower and Sasuke yanked it open.

"Ah!" A young girl in an apprentice snake ANBU mask exclaimed, jumping backward in surprise and drawing a kunai to a defensive position.

Sasuke took her moment of surprise to study what he could see of her. She was of average height for her age and had light blue hair. Her mask only covered the upper half of her face, so he could see her mouth clearly, but could not see her eyes. The mouth, set in an 'o' shape, immediately closed, setting itself in a firm grimace.

"Snake-chan, I taught you better than that. You are to sense for chakra presence before opening doors so that no one can surprise you. I have told you that countless times. You need to learn your lessons or one day you will be killed because you were unprepared." Though the woman's voice held no emotion, no scolding tone, the child before him shrank slightly, cowed by her master.

"G-gomen, Snake-sama. I-I didn't think I needed to do that here in our own village."

"Of course you do; although, only when entering the Hokage building. How many times have I told you that? This is where all the dangerous people are taken when they are captured, and it's where ninja go to report danger. You must be sure there is no threat behind that door before you enter.

"Hokage-sama has a mission for you, by the way. You are in charge of the escort of Uchiha Sasuke to his home in the Uchiha mansion, on the other side of the village. This," she said, gesturing to the man in question, "is Uchiha Sasuke. He is your charge. I will be watching, so make sure to do your best."

"H-Hai!" They began the treck through the village, on their way to the Uchiha District. They walked in silence for a half second as Sasuke tried to control his anger.

He spoke anyway, losing his grip on his dislike of people who stutter. "Stop stuttering. You sound just like a girl I used to know. The weak Hyuuga heiress." Sasuke sneered, cruelty seeping into his voice from years of overuse.

The apprenticed Snake ANBU's mask turned downward without stopping, feebly trying to hide the pained emotion that flitted across her cheeks. "Hyuuga Hinata was my mother."

"Snake-chan, no emotion. That's why you haven't been made an ANBU yet. Also, do not give information to a traitor like Uchiha, especially some that can be used against us," the elder snake admonished quitely, in a tone barely audible to the youngest Uchiha.

The apprentice seemed to gain control of her emotions immediately, shaking her head and looking up at the man defiantly. "Hai, Snake-sama." She answerd her teacher.

Sasuke wondered what had happened to Hinata, and the apprentice's father. He asked his question despite himself, cursing his curiosity. "Who is your father?"

"I don't know." She sounded guarded now, unwilling to anger her mentor further.

"What happened to Hinata?"

"That's classified village information. Only villagers can be told. Snake-sama, we've arrived," she directed the ending statement toward her mentor, glad for the chance to change the subject.

"Aa. Go report to Hokage-sama that we made it safely and without incident to the District," Snake nodded to dismiss the younger girl from their presence.

"Hai, Snake-sama." Snake-chan said before she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

**(A/N: That's all for now. I hope you liked the first chapter. Please read and review. I want to know if it's good or bad, what I need to improve, and whether you like it or not.**

**EDIT September 10, 2010 – I am under going a major revamp of this story, so if you come back to check it sometime in the near future, this story should be much more detailed and well written than it was when I started writing SL two years ago.)**


	2. The Snakes' Life

**(A/N: I hope you like the chapter. Please no flames, I'm not a marshmallow. XD Anywayz…I don't own Naruto because if I did, Hinata would be much more powerful and it would not be called Naruto because Hinata would be the star, and I'd be rich!...On with the story…)**

Chapter 2: The Snakes' Life.

"I am going to look around the village." Sasuke hated having to state his intentions to the woman every moment he moved. It was as though he was a prisoner in his own home. Though he technically was one, the thought that it was the same with other prisoners never crossed his mind.

They were in the front hall of the main house of the Uchiha District. What used to be Sasuke's house before he left the village.

"Iie, you are not. Tomorrow, if Hokage-sama grants that you can stay, you wander. If not, then you will leave without further delay." Her straightforward denial of his freedom brought a not-so-pleased scowl from her charge.

"Hn." The two powerful ninja could have been rivals for the quietest people on the face of the earth. It came as no surprise to either of them that there was no further conversation until late that night, when it came to deciding where the both of them would sleep.

"Take whatever room you want, as long as it's not mine." He said, walking up the stairs and opening the door to his own room. He stood in the doorway, waiting, as Snake followed, stopping directly in front of him.

"I will be sleeping on the floor of your room so as to be sure that you do not try to escape." He opened his mouth, intending to outright deny her enterance to his room. Then, thinking of the possible implications of disallowing her, thought better of starting an argument. "I will be there whether you like it or not, and whether I like it or not. It's part of my mission." Snake managed to sound firm without any emotional inflection.

Sasuke scowled but did not continue to argue. He was about to wave her into the room when he realized he had to change. Instead, he entered first and shut the door with a bang.

Sensing his intentions without explaination, (because really, what kind of ANBU would she be if she couldn't pick up on his reluctance to speak?) she stayed outside while he changed.

When he came to the door and slid it open, she noted his change of attire smugly, not that the Uchiha could see. She had been right. She brushed gracefully past him and into the room devoid of personal facets.

She was also aware of the exact moment that he realized that she had no sleeping clothes to change into. He watched her move toward the corner of the room without a hint of hesitation. "You are not changing." His observation was empty, stated with a blank face.

"Iie," the sylphlike woman replied simply.

"Why?" Sasuke's confusion was not apparent in his expression, but it was in his eyes.

She took slight pity on the man by allowing the conversation to continue. "There is no need."

"Is that how you're going to sleep?" He did not simply want answers, but explainations that no one had deigned to give him since he'd killed Orochimaru.

"Yes."

No words left the stoic Uchiha's mouth, yet he still managed to relay his confusion to the ANBU before him.

"This is how I always sleep." Her eyes closed, effectively telling him she was ready for the conversation to end.

"But you surely have a bed at your home in which you could sleep." Sasuke said, angrily wanting to continue the discussion, just to spite her. She was not answering his questions.

"I sit like this against the wall of my room on my bed." She clarified without reopening her opalescent eyes. "If I'm needed for an urgent mission in the middle of the night, I find that I can wake up more alertly by sitting like this."

Sasuke was about to copy her when she continued, something he didn't think the silent nin would do. "It takes days to get used to sleeping like this. I don't recommend you try it, in case the council does not let you stay."

"Hn." Sasuke lay down and closed his eyes. Soon he was asleep. Snake sat up warily for a bit, but eventually she, too, fell into a light slumber.

When Sasuke woke the next morning, he got up and walked to the door of his room, thinking his ANBU guard was still asleep. As he was reaching for the door knob, she asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Breakfast." He hated the fact that he had to answer to her.

"Without waking your guard?" He could almost imagine her voice sounding hurt if she had put some emotion into it.

"You weren't asleep."

"You didn't know that until I spoke. I saw surprise in your eyes. I can read emotions, you know."

"Who are you, the lead ANBU or something?" He smirked, thinking he already knew her answer.

"Hai. I am." Her tone was dead serious as she stood and walked toward him.

"You're kidding?" Sasuke asked incredulously. The smirk slid off his face almost immediately.

"Iie. I don't kid. Surely you should have at least observed that much about me seeing as you trained with Orochimaru. I figured you would read emotions better than I do." That statement would have been mocking if she had put some emotion into her voice, but as usual, there was none.

"It will be time to meet Hokage-sama in two hours. You have an hour and a half to eat and prepare for the day. We won't be late."

"I'm going to get breakfast." Sasuke turned and walked out the door of his room. Snake followed. As he walked into the kitchen, he stopped, realizing he had no food here.

"I have nothing to eat here."

"I know. I figured you knew that there would be no food here. You've been gone for sixteen years. Did you honestly think something would be here?"

Sasuke simply growled, thinking once more that he'd better not start a fight if he wanted to stay in Konoha. "I'm going out for breakfast then."

"No. You're going to my place as soon as you've finished getting ready because otherwise, you would be exploring the village. You may not find the locations of anything that may be of service in an invasion until it has been approved that you may stay here."

Sasuke growled again. Snake knew she was making him mad, but didn't care at all. She could take care of herself in a fight and she would certainly report him to the Hokage if he started one. "And where might you live, Snake-sama?" Sasuke said through clenched teeth.

"Two houses down from the last house of the complex. That's why you were allowed to stay here."

"I'm prepared now; let's go." He said, pushing past Snake toward the main hall and the door. He walked outside into the streets. They passed several houses before leaving the complex, but Sasuke forgot to count the number and almost overshot her home.

"I believe you would like to turn left if you want breakfast." She spoke as he walked past a path leading to a house just off the road, her voice the only sign that she had followed him.

"Hn." Sasuke turned left and walked down the pathway leading off the road. He looked at her house. Outside it was nothing special. A normal house, grayish wood, no decorations at all outside, not even any flowers. Snake walked up to the door, put the key in and slid it open for Sasuke.

"Sit in the den and I will go find something for you to eat." Sasuke grudgingly did as he was told and sat down where she directed him. He looked around. The inside wasn't anything special either. Very few personal touches, walls colored a plain white, furniture a deep black. There was only one couch, a small table, a lamp, some shelves full of books, and a single picture. The picture was the only thing that proved that the house belonged to a specific someone.

It was a picture of a girl with long, midnight-sky coloured long hair and kind, white eyes. He picked it up to study it more closely. Sasuke felt as though he had seen the girl somewhere before.

He almost dropped it when Snake walked back into the room. "Who is this?" He asked her. Despite his dislike of the woman and conversation, he was curious.

She glanced at the picture, then swiped it out of his hands and laid it picture side down on the shelves. "That is none of your business." Curiosity killed the cat…

"Is it you?"

"Iie. If you must know, that's Hyuuga Hinata." …But satisfaction brought it back.

"How did you know her?"

"She was a friend." Snake growled. She had finally managed to put some emotion in her voice: anger.

"'Was'? What happened to her?" _After all,_ Sasuke reasoned, _she was part of the rookie nine._

"She disappeared on a solo mission searching for the Akatsuki. A body was never recovered."

"Oh. She was that weakling heiress; why was she sent on a mission to look for the Akatsuki?"

"All heirs must complete an S-ranked mission before they may accept the title of Clan leader. It is the way her clan works."

"How do you know so much about her situation?" His incredulous tone gave away what his facial expression did not: he thought she was lying.

"I was her only confident."

"So why are you telling me this?"

"She is dead."

"You said that already. Is that why Snake-chan was so sad? She said Hyuuga-san was her mother. Do you know who her father was?"

"Iie."

"What did you bring for me to eat?" He asked after a few minutes of complete silence, feeling awkward.

"Nothing yet. I came in here to ask you what you wanted to eat."

"Oh. It doesn't matter."

Snake nodded and walked back into the kitchen. Sasuke turned back to the picture and picked it up to study it further.

**A few minutes after Snake left for the kitchen**

Snake's apprentice was walking down the hall, having just woken up from a restful sleep. She was on her way to the kitchen for breakfast when she sensed an unfamiliar presence in the den.

She didn't recognize it at first, but soon realized that it was the Uchiha's. Swiftly and silently, she slipped into the den to see him holding the picture of her mother with a thoughtful look on his face.

Her eyes narrowed as she approached him. Carefully, quietly, she drew a kunai and pressed it to his neck before he could react to the _shik_ sound of the metal being drawn. "What do you think you're doing here?" She demanded of him. She gained no reaction other than a slight narrowing of his eyes to her question. "I won't repeat myself, Uchiha. Answer my question or I'll be sure to tell Snake-sama that you are untrustworthy and banish you permanently from the village."

"I came here to get breakfast with her, dobe. How can I be disobeying my orders?" Sasuke retorted, forcing the words through gritted teeth before he smirked.

"This is the house we share. If you're here with Snake-sama, then where is she?"

"The kitchen."

There was a tense silence for a moment before Snake walked into the room. She smiled, though she knew neither of them could see it. "Very good, Snake-chan. Let the Uchiha go, now." She ordered softly, her voice holding only a slight bit of the pride she felt for the young apprentice.

"Hai, Snake-sama." The blue haired girl said as she dropped the kunai from Sasuke's neck and appeared at the woman's side. She glanced back at the man as his mouth moved to form a question.

"You two live together." It wasn't a question.

"Hai." Snake answered anyway. "Ramen for breakfast, Uchiha." Upon giving him this statement, she turned and walked into the kitchen once more.

Snake's apprentice was silent, but she a small smile stretched across her face. "She praised me. She never praises me. I must have done well." Her voice was an octave higher than her normal tone because of her pride.

"If Snake-sama lets you live with her, you must be close."

"Iie, not really. I don't really know that much about her. I think of her as my foster mom, whom she is, but I don't know whether she thinks of me as her daughter or not."

"Foster mother?"

"Hai. She adopted me when Okaa-sama disappeared. She says I can stay here with her until I want to move out. She does lots for me, but I don't know whether or not she thinks of me as her daughter." It was hard to remember that the child standing before him was only twelve. She seemed so mature, but every once and a while, her language reflected her true age.

"She is really strict, though you probably know that. She shows her emotions around me more than around others, so I know her better than everyone else. Well, everyone except Okaa-sama and Naruto-kun.

"When Naruto-kun said I could become an ANBU apprentice, he assigned Snake-sama to be my shishou. I was excited because she's one of the most powerful ninja in the village. Naruto-kun says she's almost as powerful as him.

"But Snake-sama trains me really well. Many days she and I go train for hours on end and even though I'm always exhausted afterwards we walk once around the village. On the easier days she shows me a new place or shortcut so that I will be able to traverse the village quicker in case of an emergency. As I said before, she never praises me unless I do something exceptionally well. Are you that tough of an opponent?"

"I trained with Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, for sixteen years.

"Is this really what your mother looked like?" He asked, gesturing over his shoulder to the picture on the shelf.

"Hai. That's the last picture she had taken.

"She never told me who my father was. She would only say 'I'll tell you when you're older.' She didn't even tell me when she left, knowing full well that she was more than likely never coming back. I tried to convince her not to go, but she said no matter what, she would. That she had to do it for her clan. Even though they abandoned her, she had to do it for them." The apprentice's lips pressed together until they nearly turned the color of her skin. He could tell she was angry. He listened as she continued.

"Iie. Okaa-sama's name wasn't Hyuuga Hinata when she left to go on that mission. She was just Hinata." The young girl said, the fight falling out of her in a moment's time.

"So the Hyuuga sent her on an S-ranked mission so she could become Clan leader without even accepting her back into the clan?"

"Hai. She had to prove her worth before she could be a Hyuuga again. I don't even know why she wanted to be one in the first place. She had the chance to leave forever because they abandoned her, but no! She wanted to go on that mission to help them!" Snake's apprentice was shouting, tears running unchecked down her face. At least, from what Sasuke saw, the lower half of her face.

"I have a feeling that something else happened though. Whenever I ask Snake-sama what really happened to Okaa-sama, her head tilts in a way that I've come to know means she feels guilty, and she says 'She died on the mission, you know that.' It's the same thing with Naruto-kun. I want to know what really happened to Okaa-sama!"

Snake glided quickly into the room with Sasuke's bowl of ramen and laid it gracefully on the table before rushing to be by her charge's side. "Snake-chan, are you alright?" She asked, for once her voice was laced with concern. That was the first time Sasuke had heard any type of emotion in it. "What is wrong, Hanii?"

"What did you say, Snake-sama?"

"I asked what was wrong, Hanii."

The apprenticed Snake ANBU was surprised to say the least, but she still answered. "I know this is going to sound pitiful, but I miss Okaa-sama," she said, quietly sniffling, but still allowing the saline liquid to flow unaltered down her face.

"That is not pathetic in any way. You know, when I was seven, my mother died. I was not allowed to cry over her death, though. My family saw it as the worst type of weakness. But I found that crying made me feel better. I used to run away from home for short periods of time to cry. My family never even realized I was gone."

"You cried?" Her apprentice looked awed by the fact that her emotionless foster-mother had cried, even once, in her entire life.

"Of course. Everyone does at some point in time. It's okay to miss your Okaa-sama. I still miss mine and I'm sure Uchiha still misses his." She looked to the man in question during the last part of her sentence, wanting to gauge his reaction.

"Did you ever know your father?" Her pupil asked curiously. Any insight into what made her surrogate mother who she was made it a fascinating subject for the smaller girl.

"Hai. And I wish I didn't. Though, Uchiha knew both of his parents and his I'm sure he loved them incredibly."

Sasuke, though he did not voice it, was stunned. How could anyone wish they didn't know their father? It was a thought that had never occurred to him, even though he hadn't liked some of the things his father had said and done, he'd never wished he didn't know him.

"My father was uncaring. Abusive. He couldn't care less whether I lived through my first mission as ANBU leader or not. I was abandoned, just like Hinata-chan."

Though he understood her reasoning, he was still unable to imagine wishing he had never known his father.

"You have only half an hour to eat. I suggest you eat now." Snake interrupted his thoughts as she took off the apprentice's mask and wiped the tears from her adopted daughter's face. Sasuke noticed that the apprentice's eyes were a deep crimson color, but she had no pupils.

Snake continued to talk, leading her adoptive daughter to the hall at the foot of the staircase. "It is okay to cry in our house. Try not to do it in public, though, if you can help it. But either way, do not worry about it, okay?" Snake smiled, though no one could see. The apprentice knew her shishou well enough to know her expression by her now-seemingly-hollow voice.

"Hai, Snake-sama. Arigatou gozaimasu. For comforting me, I mean."

"Of course. Now, put on your mask and you can come with Uchiha and me to see Hokage-sama."

"Yay! It's been so long since I've seen Naruto-kun! May I really go with you?" She instantly brightened at the prospect of seeing her real mother's close friend once more.

"Hai."

"I'll go grab another mask and meet you at the door. Arigatou gozaimasu!" Snake's apprentice turned and ran up the stairs.

Snake walked back into the den where she saw Sasuke was nearly finished eating his ramen. "When you've finished, give me your bowl and I'll put it in the sink so we can be on our way," she said, her voice returning to its normal, emotionless tone.

"Where'd your apprentice get to?" He questioned off-handedly as he handed her his bowl.

"She's getting ready to help me escort you to Hokage-sama. She will meet us at the door." Snake placed the empty bowl in the kitchen sink, keeping an eye on Sasuke's chakra signature to make sure he stayed where she left him. She turned and led the Uchiha through the main hall and out the door, where they found the apprenticed Snake ANBU waiting for them.

The three of them walked out into the road and turned toward the Hokage Tower. "I can't believe It's been almost two months since I've seen Naruto-kun!" The apprentice exclaimed.

"Remember not to call him that to his face, Snake-chan. I don't know how he feels about that name coming from you."

"Well, I'm her daughter, right? It should be okay." She responded looking into her shishou's mask.

Sasuke looked on with an emotionless expression, confusion hidden in his eyes.

Acurately reading his silence, Snake began an explaination. "Hokage-sama decreed that only Hinata-chan could call him 'Naruto-kun' after he became Hokage."

"Demo, I'm her daughter so it shouldn't matter if I call him that, should it?" Her apprentice broke into Snake's explaination, coming close to begging her permission.

Snake silently shook her head. There was no way she would admit to the child that it was likely that it would be okay with him, but she didn't want to get her apprentice's hopes up in case he did say no. Either way, she was not going to stand in the way of his decision.

"I'm her daughter." The child ANBU apprentice was nearly whining this time as she pleaded with the older woman.

"Then I guess you will have to ask him if it is alright for you, his subordinate, to call the Hokage by his first name, added with the suffix –kun."

"Aa. I will." Her tone was stubborn and no longer held even a hint of a whine. They fell silent as they arrived at the tower. Snake looked at her apprentice, nodded her head, and disappeared.

Sasuke looked to the smaller girl inquisitively.

"She's going to the meeting. She has to report whatever you did last night to Naruto-kun and the Council. Then, together, they will determine whether or not you can stay. We have to wait outside in the hall on the benches."

His silence told her he didn't hear a word, though she knew he would never admit such a thing, and he was confused.

"She said so just now. Right before she left."

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged characteristically and followed the apprentice Snake ANBU up the steps to wait outside the Hokage's office.

**(A/N: There's another chapter up! I'll try to update at least once a week. Thank you to all who have read and please, continue to follow. I'll try not to disappoint you! I know people are reading, so leave a review when you're done, onegai?**


	3. The Decision

**(A/N: Hey all ya'll out there. I hope you're enjoying Snake's Legacy so far. I'm thinking of posting a oneshot soon. Leave me reviews and I will try to post the chapters faster. Anywayz, I don't own Naruto, and I'm pretty sure everyone is glad I don't. XD Thank you to all who have read so far! I'd especially like to thank 1moonwitch, xXxjustagrlxXx, wahaicu, mac2, HeartBrokenHinata, Ninja-Hidden-in-the-Paddocks, -fan, and shadowsaver for leaving reviews! On with the chapter!)**

**Chapter 3: The Decision**

**Inside the office**

"Ah, Snake-sama, you're just on time. How was your mission?" The Hokage asked.

"Easy. He didn't try anything. He isn't very agreeable, but didn't seem to be planning anything. I think that, for now, he is trustworthy. I will report it should he do anything suspicious if he is permitted to stay, Hokage-sama."

"Where is he now?" Naruto was sitting in the chair at the head of the table, with many other men clustered around him.

"He is with my apprentice." She said as she pulled out her seat of the council table.

"If he tries to escape, will she be able to handle it?" One of the elders asked worridly.

"Hai. He is very interested in her history, actually. She told him a bit about herself this morning and he seemed extremely interested."

"Did she tell him Hinata was her mother?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"And you believe he is trustworthy, you must if you let her tell him all that."

Snake was silent for a moment. "Hai, I believe he can be trusted."

"Council, what do you think. I believe he should be allowed, and so does our head ANBU, who has spent last night and today watching him."

"He may stay. But he must be put under ANBU guard for the next two years." The head council member stated.

"I know the perfect person to do that." Naruto turned to Snake and tilted his head questioningly.

"Hai, of course, Hokage-sama. I believe he is powerful and I would not give this job to anyone else for fear of their safety."

"Good. You will be his ANBU guard for the next two years then."

Snake nodded her head and waited just inside the door as the council left the room. "Snake-chan, are you okay?" Naruto asked as soon as the last member left the room.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. He did not hurt me." Snake said stiffly.

"You know what I mean. Are you okay? This is the first time you've allowed your apprentice to speak about the past."

"I'm fine." Snake said with an iron laced tone. "I will call in the Uchiha and Snake-chan to hear the result." She turned and walked out the door to find her charges.

**During the meeting**

The apprenticed Snake made her way through the hallways to the benches outside of the Hokage's office with Sasuke close behind her. "Uchiha-san, sit down." She said, gesturing toward the benches.

"My name is Sasuke."

"What?"

"I prefer being called Sasuke. Uchiha-san makes me feel old."

"You're only twenty-nine."

"How did you know that?"

"Kaa-san said you were her age. You left sixteen years ago. That makes you twenty-nine."

"How old are you?"

"I'm twelve."

"So she was-"

"Hai. She was young. I know. She's dead now so it doesn't matter." The apprentice turned her face away so that Sasuke couldn't see her expression.

"At least Snake-sama was willing to take you in."

"I guess so. But what I want to know is why she was willing to take me in. Okaa-san didn't ask her to."

"Maybe Hinata cared so much about you that Snake-sama wanted to take you in so she wouldn't have to die worrying."

"Aa."

"I wonder if I'll be allowed to stay here. Snake-sama didn't seem to like me very much. I wonder what she's saying in her report." Sasuke mused.

"She's going to try to convince them to let you stay. I know she will."

"Why?"

"Didn't you see the way she showed emotion in front of you like you weren't even there? She wouldn't do that in front of everyone, you know. You're the first person who's seen emotions from her, other than me, in a really long time."

"I am?"

"Hai. You should count on staying here. She's the head ANBU, everyone will listen to her. Especially if Naruto-kun backs her up."

"Snake-chan! Uchiha! Come on. You have to go see Hokage-sama for the results of the debate." Snake said from the doorway of Naruto's office.

"Chotto matte! We'll be right there. Come on U-ano, Sasuke-san."

"Coming." Sasuke got up and walked into Naruto's office.

"Sasuke." Naruto nodded his head in greeting. "You've been allowed to stay." Sasuke glanced at Snake to see if she would give him a hint of whether she had pulled in his favor or against him, but she gave no sign. He looked over at the apprenticed ANBU and saw her smiling. He took it that Snake had helped convince the council to let him stay.

"Arigatou gozamizu."

"You can thank Snake-sama here for that. The council refused to listen to me until she said she believed you wouldn't betray Konoha again. It's amazing what one person can do, ne, Snake-sama?"

"Hai."

The Hokage sighed. It seemed to Sasuke that he wanted her to show some emotion. "So…am I allowed to walk around the village as I please, or what's my punishment?"

"You will have an ANBU guard near you at all times for the next two years, and will be allowed no more solo missions until some time after that."

Sasuke scowled. But he couldn't expect anything less after he had betrayed Konoha; actually, he should have been expecting something more. Still, he scowled until he looked at Snake, who was glaring at him. "Ano…hai, Hokage-sama."

"Sasuke, what's with all the formalities?" Naruto said. "Naruto will suffice."

"You've gotten smarter."

"It comes with having Snake-sama as the head ANBU. She's almost as smart as Shikamaru, though I'd have to say, far from lazy. You have to be intelligent to understand her."

"You did it to impress her, didn't you?"

"Iie. I'm married. Didn't Snake-sama tell you?"

"I gave him no information that could be used against us just in case he was not allowed to stay."

"Don't be so uptight! You can relax-"

"I'm on a mission. I cannot relax. That is deadly. Surely you know that, Hokage-sama?"

"This mission is not life threatening. How many times do I have to tell you, you don't have to be formal with me. I hate formalities. Call me Naruto."

"Ah, that reminds me. My apprentice has something to ask you, Hokage-sama." She asked, directing the last part to her apprentice.

"H-Hai. Hokage-sama, do you mind if I call you Naruto-kun?" The apprentice asked hesitantly.

Naruto sat back in his seat. His wife didn't call him that. She used -koi. Only Hinata had ever called him that. But this was her daughter.

He looked to the Snake ANBU. She showed no reaction. She was stiff, but she was always that way. "I guess you can. If you want to." He said slowly, still looking for a reaction from Snake. He got none, so he guessed it was alright. "Hai, you can call me Naruto-kun." He said decisively.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun!"

"We will be going home now, if that is okay with you, Hokage-sama?"

"Of course, Snake-chan, erm…I mean, Snake-sama." Naruto corrected his slip up.

The two snake ANBU and the last Uchiha walked out of the office and down the steps. "Why did he just call you -chan, Snake-sama?" Sasuke and the apprentice asked at the same time.

"Because he and I used to go out. But I don't know him well anymore. I don't use terms that make me seem close to people when I'm not. That's called deceiving. He knows more about me than most, but still, that's not much."

"You and Naruto-kun used to go out?! Wow!" Her apprentice exclaimed.

"Heh. Better yet, you used to actually care enough to have a boyfriend?" Sasuke spoke tauntingly.

"Hai. I did. I don't anymore."

"Why, Snake-sama?"

"Because I don't need emotions anymore. Emotions only bring pain."

Everyone fell silent and no one spoke until they reached the Snakes' home. "Snake-chan, you will be staying here, but I will need to move into the Uchiha Mansion for the next two years. I suppose if Uchiha says you may, you can stay at the Uchiha Mansion, but only if you wanted. If you do stay with us, will you please bring both my things and yours when you go next. Until then, ja ne, and take care of yourself."

"Ja ne! And I will stay with you and bring our stuff over. If that's alright with Sasuke-san, I mean."

"Why not? I suppose having two snakes around the house won't be horrible." Sasuke said, making an attempt at a joke.

"Hey!" the apprentice said indignantly.

"Don't forget you have to go back to the house and get our clothes and supplies to bring to the Uchiha Mansion."

"Hai, Snake-sama. I'll see you there in a few hours."

"We're going out to Ichiraku's to get lunch, Snake-chan, so join us there when you're done."

"Hai, Snake-sama." Snake's apprentice ran into their house, leaving the other snake and the Uchiha alone.

"I can actually go to Ichiraku's now?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Of course. You're a villager now. You're allowed to move about the village." The two made their way to Ichiraku's. Once there, Sasuke ordered a bowl of ramen.

"It's been sixteen years since I've had this ramen. I hope it's still as good as it used to be." He murmured. "Itadakimasu." Sasuke broke apart his chopsticks and dug in. After a few swift bites, he looked around the shop and recognized one of the people there. "Hello, Sakura-san."

Said person turned around to stare at him and Snake incredulously. "Are you two on a date?" Sakura asked, not recognizing Sasuke immediately.

Snake turned to glare at her and answered coolly. "Of course not. Do you not recognize the former heartthrob of Konoha? Uchiha came back and has been permitted to stay."

Sakura gasped. "I'm sorry, Snake-sama. I didn't recognize him. Is that really Sasuke?" Sakura asked as though Sasuke wasn't even there.

"Hai. I've been assigned to be his ANBU guard for the next two years."

"That explains why you're with him, but where is Snake-chan going to stay while you're with him?"

"She is staying at the Mansion with us." Snake fell silent.

"Sakura. How are you?" Sasuke asked, slightly nervous at how she would take his return.

"I'm fine." She answered stiffly.

"It's been a while."

"Hai, it has."

"You've changed."

"So've you."

"Uchiha, she's married. She's not going to fall head over heels for you just because you've come back."

"To who?"

"Naruto." Sakura answered.

"So you're married to the Hokage."

"Hai. I know everyone in the village, help him with important papers, and know almost everyone of his secrets." Sakura narrowed her eyes as if challenging Sasuke.

"I've already gained the trust of both the Hokage and the head ANBU and I've only been here for one day."

"Stop your bragging match. Uchiha, you haven't gained my trust. I said we should give you a chance gain it. Uzumaki-sama, everyone has secrets, and you should know better than to brag. I thought you learned that with Naruto."

Sakura bowed her head. "Gomen, Snake-sama."

"Sasuke?" Ino asked from the entrance of Ichiraku's as she entered the shop with Shikamaru.

"Hai, it's me." Sasuke answered with reluctance.

"Shika-kun! Sasuke's back!" She screamed, even though Shikamaru was right beside her.

"Aa. And he seems to be with Snake-sama, who I'm sure doesn't appreciate all the noise."

"Ah! Gomen nasai, Snake-sama!"

"I don't mind. Nara-san does though."

"Mendokuse."

"Shika-kun!"

"What brings you here, Nara-san?" Snake-sama asked, smoothly avoiding a one-sided argument.

Sasuke expected Shikamaru to answer, but Ino did. "We heard Sasuke came back. I wanted to see if it was true and Shika-kun wanted to come with me." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sent Snake a pleading look.

Snake looked towards Ino. "Why don't you catch up with Uchiha? Hokage-sama wanted me to tell Nara-sama something confidential." Ino walked over to him.

"Hai, Snake-sama." Ino walked to sit beside Sasuke while Snake moved down a few seats away from them beside Shikamaru.

"Ino, what are you doing here with Shikamaru?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"Snake-sama didn't tell you?! Shika-kun and I are married!"

Sasuke was shocked to say the least when she told him. "Really? Ano…congratulations?" It came out as more of a question than a sentence, but Ino missed the tone of it.

"Arigatou!

**During Ino and Sasuke's conversation**

"Arigato, Snake-sama. I love her, but sometimes she gets on my nerves. Especially when I want to relax." Shikamaru said exasperatedly.

"Douitashimashite."

"I heard you and Naruto used to go out. Is that true?"

"How did you find out?" Snake asked, not really caring about the answer.

"It comes of having Ino as a wife."

"Aa. It's true."

"Did he break up with you?"

"Iie. I broke up with him."

"Why?"

"Personal issues."

"How has your job been going? Is it easy guarding Sasuke?" Quickly changing the subject, rather than pressing.

"Hai." Snake said distractedly.

"Something worrying you?"

"Iie."

"You and I both know that's a lie." Shikamaru was the one person who could read her moods.

Snake turned to look at him. "Sometimes you're too smart for your own good. You of all people should know that an ANBU's business is an ANBU's business. When you ask and they say no, you don't continue pressing."

"But this isn't related to your ANBU job, is it? That's why you're not very mad."

"Iie. I don't have need to be mad. It wouldn't do any good. What's said is said, what's done is done, there's nothing getting mad can do to change it."

"You're avoiding the subject."

"One day, your curiosity is going to get you killed."

"At least I can say I wanted to learn new things." He retorted.

Snake narrowed her eyes before admitting to Shikamaru what was wrong. "Snake-chan was supposed to get our stuff and drop it off at the Uchiha Mansion. We've been here ten minutes waiting for her. It should only have taken five. She said she was coming if she could make it in time. She should be here by now." Snake glanced at her lap.

"Maybe something happened. You never know, someone could have snuck past our defenses at worst case scenario."

Snake glanced up sharply. "Nara-san, how probable is that?"

"Not very."

"That's an even worse lie than mine. Sayonara, Nara-san."

"Ja ne."

Snake walked by Sasuke, ordering him to get up and follow her. Then she ran out the door at an incredibly rapid pace. Snake used her chakra to speed up her running. Sasuke could barely keep up. "Why did you just get up and leave so suddenly?" Sasuke asked.

"Snake-chan may be in trouble."

**(A/N: Please tell me what you think so far. Hehehe! Evil Cliffie!! Gomen, but if I had to end it somewhere, didn't I? I accept all constructive criticism, but will ignore any and all flames. If you don't like it, onegai, don't read it, or tell me what's wrong and I'll try to fix it. But no flames? I'll try to update next Monday, but school is starting next Monday and things are going to get hectic. I hate school. My bestest friend ever moved to a new state, too. **_**-cries something about loneliness and hides in a corner-**_** Ja ne!)**


	4. Trouble with Otogakure

**(A/N: I'm back! Are you ready for another chapter? -Sees friend shake head rapidly- Well, fine then, don't read it! But I have to update for all my adoring fans! Hehehehe. : ) It really is too bad that I don't own Naruto. I would hate to leave you in suspense like Kishimoto. I wish he would just finish writing Naruto already! I want to know how it ends….sorry. Rant over. You can go on and read the story now.)**

**Chapter 4: Trouble with Otogakure**

"Snake-chan may be in trouble, Uchiha."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke replied.

"I mean something bad might have happened." Snake said, picking up speed.

"You're faster than Lee."

"He was faster. We actually raced once and he beat me, but that was only when he took off his weights."

"Was?"

"He and Gai left the village a year after I got here to go train off in the mountains. Said something about coming back and challenging me to a spar."

"But what do you mean was?"

"He died when a few of the Akatsuki made a surprise attack on the lesser village where he was staying. There weren't many ninja there so the battle was over quickly. They lost, obviously, and the village was destroyed. Gai was also killed."

"Oh." Sasuke said, and he was quiet the rest of the way to the Uchiha Mansion.

Snake arrived first. She paused only for a moment to assess the situation before jumping down. "Snake-chan!" She shouted as her apprentice fell, knocked out by one of the men opposing ninja, who used the hilt of a katana.

There were ten ninja in all. Snake's apprentice had already knocked out five of them, but all ten were chuunin and her apprentice was only an apprentice so it was a miracle that she had been able to knock out five before collapsing.

Snake stared at the ninja for a moment. "One of you will live as my prisoner, whom I will take to Hokage-sama. The others of you will die. Especially you." Snake said, pointing to the one who knocked her apprentice out. "Which one of you shall I chose to live? I don't know. Whoever is furthest from me when I attack will probably live."

The rival ninja didn't move. They believed they could take her on. They were wrong. Snake attacked with a flurry of punches. They stood disbelievingly in front of the ANBU. She quickly sent chakra to her feet to speed up her movements while concentrating chakra to her hands. She struck all of them but one in the chest with her hand, which she had made sharper than a sword. They immediately fell, blood spattering everywhere, including onto Snake's mask. One of the men disappeared in a puff of smoke. _A shadow clone! _Sasuke thought from his spot a short distance away from the fight.

The real ninja appeared behind Snake and struck her in the shoulder with a kunai. Snake whirled around with a hiss, holding her injured shoulder with her other hand. She lashed out with a senbon and landed a shallow cut on his cheek. Snake smirked and lowered the senbon. "There is poison on the end of my senbon. Even the shallowest of cuts with this is deadly."

The man's eyes widened as he fell to his knees clutching his cheek and looking at the blood on his hand. He fell forward, dead.

The last hostile ninja looked at her with great fear in his eyes when she started laughing. "That was one of the easiest battles I've ever fought." The blood and taunts made her seem almost demented.

She turned to face the nin, blood still spattered on her mask and dripping down her arm. "You will follow me to the Hokage Tower." She ordered him. "Uchiha, you're coming too." She walked toward her apprentice and picked her up. She turned to the only other two ninja in the area. "Now."

They began the short trek toward their destination, running on Snake's orders. When they arrived at Naruto's office, Snake knocked loudly.

"Enter, Snake-sama."

"Hai." Snake opened the door and the three stepped into the office.

"Snake-sama! What happened to Snake-chan and yourself? Why is there a foreign ninja in my office?" He demanded.

"Snake-chan was attacked by ten ninja who somehow got past your border patrols. This man was one of her attackers. I think this was most likely Uchiha's doing."

"What?!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "Why do you believe that?"

"The ninja that attacked us were Oto nin." She said simply.

Naruto's eyes narrowed further. "Sasuke, do you have any way to defend yourself?"

The man beside Snake raised his eyebrows and growled. "Uchiha you traitor!" He turned to Naruto. "Why is he in this village?" He hissed. "He destroyed Otogakure! He is a traitor to Konoha and my village! Why did you let him come back here? You should have told him to leave and let him die out in the wilderness!"

"Snake-sama, is this proof enough that he did not set this attack up? It is for me."

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, you are being simple minded. If Uchiha did plan it, he would have a back up plan, iie? If they were to get caught, this ninja would accuse him of being a traitor and make it seem that Uchiha wasn't involved."

"Do you have something against Sasuke?"

"Iie. I am merely stating what could have happened. Hokage-sama, you of all people should know that one must be careful when dealing with traitors. You must consider everything. You would do well to wise up, Hokage-sama, before you bring certain doom to this village."

Snake turned to walk out of the room, leaving a stricken Naruto and an astonished Sasuke behind her. "Uchiha, let's go." She said all of this with an emotionless voice, but everyone in the room could tell she was angry.

Sasuke glanced one more time at Naruto before walking out of the room, thinking it smart to follow Snake. "Where are we going?" He asked hesitantly, afraid of attracting Snake's anger.

"To see Uzumaki-sama. Snake-chan needs to be checked out and I need to discuss Hokage-sama's recklessness with her."

"What about your arm?"

"I'm fine. I can bandage it myself. Snake-chan is the one who needs to be checked by Uzumaki-sama." Snake said, finalizing the conversation.

Sasuke was silent for the rest of the way to the hospital. He was afraid of Snake's wrath, though he would never admit it.

When they arrived at the hospital, Snake went to the front desk and asked where to go to wait for Sakura. The nurse at the desk was trembling when she told them to wait in room 154. She also told them she would send one of the interns to get Sakura for them. The snake and last Uchiha made their way to the directed room.

The intern made her way to the hospital room Sakura was in. The head medic ninja was healing a patient with a minor injury when the intern entered the room. "Sakura-sama, there is a patient in room 154 who says you need to immediately go find her. She says it's really important. She…she said you had better be in there within the time span of ten minutes." The intern involuntarily flinched. Sakura was known for having great medical skills, but she was also known for her super strength and her temper that could rival her shishou's.

"How dare a patient come to this hospital and try to order me about!?" She shrieked. "But I shouldn't take this out on you. I'm going to give this woman a piece of my mind!" She turned to stomp out the door, but suddenly remembered something. She turned back around and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes, sumimasen," sweetly to the patient she was previously treating. Then, she once again turned and stomped out the door.

When she arrived at room number 154, Sakura opened the door and shouted, "Who do you think…" She trailed off, seeing who was in the room. "Ah! Gomen nasai, Snake-sama! I didn't know it was you!"

"That's fine, Uzumaki-sama. I need to discuss Hokage-sama with you after you check out Snake-chan." Snake pointed to her apprentice, who was lying on the hospital bed in the room.

"What happened to you two?"

"Ten men from Otogakure attacked her. I also came to discuss that with you. Hokage-sama thinks that it was a coincidence, but I think it was more. He shows-village. Oto attack. Captured nin-screams at. Hokage- innocent. I-Guilty." (Sasuke comes to the village, and Otogakure ninja attacked us the next day. I captured one of the ninja and when we got into Hokage-sama's office, the captured nin screamed at Uchiha. Hokage-sama thinks Uchiha is innocent, but I think he may be guilty.)

"The only way- threaten." Sakura replied in the broken code Snake was using. She turned to Sasuke. "Snake-chan could die from the wound she took to the head." (the only way to find out is to threaten)

Sasuke's eyes widened with surprise, not a trace of guilt. "Surely Snake-sama got here in time?"

"She might have, I'll have to have a more thorough examination first." Sakura turned back to Snake. "I- innocent. No guilt. Tell Naruto-koi?" (I say he's innocent, not guilty. Should I tell Naruto-koi?)

"Hai. Tell Me- innocent." Snake said, and Sakura disappeared to tell Naruto about what they had discussed. (Hai, tell him I changed my mind, I say he's innocent now, too.)

"What was that about? Is Snake-chan really going to die? Why did she leave so suddenly? What were you two talking about?"

"We were using a broken code. We invented it to talk about patients when they are awake and we are in the room. That way, they will have no idea what we are talking about. Snake-chan is not going to die. Uzumaki-sama left to go report to Hokage-sama. You are not to know what we talked about until Uzumaki-sama returns with Hokage-sama's decision."

Sasuke was about to argue when Snake walked over to her apprentice and sat in the chair beside her bed. Snake sighed and put her mask-covered face in her hands. "What's wrong?"

Snake looked up at him, and though she was wearing a mask, he could tell she was glaring. "For a long while, the village has been peaceful. Now that you've come back, there have been two reported attacks by Oto ninja.

"One was when we were at your house. A ninja came in the middle of the night and tried to attack me, thinking I was asleep. I put a sleeping genjutsu on you so you wouldn't wake. Then I immediately killed the ninja, disposing of the body outside the village. I then came back to your house, cleaned the blood off the floor, released you from the genjutsu, and continued my meditative sleep.

"The second time, you witnessed, but you did nothing to help. That's twice I've had to fight Oto ninja in the past week, when I haven't fought them for a year."

"I swear that I didn't have anything to do with it."

"I know that. The look in your eyes when Uzumaki-sama told you Snake-chan was going to die told me you were innocent. That's why she said that. To find out if you planned this or not."

"I think they are working for Kabuto now that Orochimaru is dead. I would have killed that freak also, but he wasn't there at the time I left."

"So you believe that Yakushi may be behind this?"

"Kabuto knows that I would come back here. Maybe he wants revenge on me for killing Orochimaru. Those two times he attacked, the first time, he was at my house, in my room. He probably wanted to kill any witnesses, and then kill me. The second time, he was at my house, was he not? Snake-chan just happened to be there."

"You may have a point. But you're lucky that Uzumaki-sama knows how to convince people of innocence, or you would be banished if it were my choice. The head ANBU has a lot of influence on the elders' decisions, almost as much as the Hokage."

They both fell silent. Snake put her face back into her hands. All of a sudden Snake looked up sharply. Sakura reappeared in the room several seconds later. "Hokage-sama begs your forgiveness, Snake-sama. He said you were right, he was a fool, and he would try harder next time. I think he's just desperate to give Sasuke another chance. Naruto missed him so much, whether he admits it or not."

"You're talking about me like I'm not even here."

Sakura turned to glare at him. "What right do you have to be here?" She asked scathingly.

Sasuke was taken aback by her tone. He winced slightly and shut up.

Sakura turned back to Snake and began to whisper. "You really hurt him when you insulted him like that. I could tell. I don't know who you are, but you're really close to his heart. When I walked into his office, he looked so broken."

"Gomen nasai." Snake said, unphased and emotionless.

Sakura sighed. "As soon as Snake-chan wakes up, I'll check her vitals to make sure she's okay, then you can go home. She may need to rest for a few hours, but she will be fine tomorrow."

"Arigatou gozamizu." Snake turned to Sasuke. "Uchiha. You will wait here with Snake-chan and Uzumaki-sama until Snake-chan wakes up. I will be right back." Snake walked out of the hospital room, leaving Sakura and Sasuke as the only conscious ones in the room.

"Sakura?"

"Sakura-_sama_ to you."

"Oh…Sakura-sama?"

"What?" She glared at him.

"Gomen nasai. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I really needed power. I couldn't gain that here. I would have brought you with me if I could have. But I knew that Orochimaru would have killed you the first chance he got. Or worse. I didn't want you to die, become one of his experiments, or be considered a missing nin. Sumimasen." Sasuke looked down as he finished.

"Apology accepted." Sakura said in a sweet voice. "I was just waiting for you to apologize. I thought it would take much longer though. But I suppose you didn't want to do it with Snake-sama around."

**(A/N: I don't really have much to say today. Read and review, onegai.)**


	5. History

**(A/N: This is the twenty-ninth Microsoft word page of Snake's Legacy! Do you think I should have longer chapters and update at the same pace, or shorter chapters and update more quickly? Let me know what you think by hitting that nice blue-ish button at the bottom of the screen. Come on, it needs some love! XD R&R onegai!)**

Chapter 5: History

"When did Snake-sama get here?" Sasuke asked.

"About four years after you left." Sakura replied.

"How did she gain Naruto's trust so easily?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there when she arrived in his office the first time. Naruto-koi told me she arrived in a mask that covered the bottom half of her face, almost like Kakashi-sensei's, and she wore sunglasses over her eyes, even inside. After he told me this, I told him that I thought this made her look suspicious, but Naruto-koi told me trusted her right from the start. I wish I knew why.

"You know, that's the only thing he knows that I don't. Her name. I don't know her real name. No one does, except Naruto. She was made ANBU a few days later. She hasn't once shown anyone here her face. Except Naruto-koi. Snake-sama worked her way through the ANBU ranks very quickly. She was named as an ANBU leader one year after her arrival."

After a few minutes of silence, Sasuke asked another question. "When did Hinata die?"

"So Snake-sama told you about her." Sasuke nodded. "Well, she was proclaimed dead twelve years after you left, a few days before Snake-sama arrived."

"How many?"

"About six."

"How did Snake-sama meet Hinata?"

"She said she and Hinata-chan had met on one of Hinata's missions. I asked Shino-kun and Kiba-kun if they knew Snake-sama, but they didn't. They said Hinata-chan disappeared during the night during a lot of their missions. They had always wondered why. I figured she probably snuck away to meet Snake-sama. She must've thought that Shino-kun and Kiba-kun would have seen a foreign ninja as a threat and not given her time to explain before attacking.

"Snake-sama also said that Hinata-chan had told her a lot about her daughter, and that she said if anything were to happen to her, her daughter had no one to stay with. Snake-sama said that she promised Hinata-chan that she would come to the village and become a Konoha ninja so she could stay and help Snake-chan. She said she promised Hinata-chan that she would adopt Snake-chan if anything ever happened to her."

"And she did. She came here and adopted Snake-chan and became a Konoha ninja? Sounds a bit farfetched to me." Sasuke said skeptically

"Not to me. It's happened more than once. It's rare, but not unheard of."

Sasuke pondered this new information for a few moments. "What is Snake-chan's real name? Everyone just calls her Snake-chan, no one calls her by her name."

"Snake-chan prefers that name to her real one when she's wearing her mask. Even though everyone knows who she is, she likes to imitate Snake-sama. She really admires her."

"So what is her real name?"

"Hikari. Hyuuga Hikari."

"Hyuuga Hikari? Does anyone know who her father is?"

"Naruto and Snake-sama do. Naruto told me once that they knew, but he wouldn't tell me who it was."

"Snake-sama does know then?"

"Of course. Snake-sama knows more about Hinata-chan and Snake-chan than anyone I've met before."

"I wonder how. Snake-sama told me she didn't know him."

"That's odd of her to lie. I don't think anyone's ever caught her lying before. But, I think Hinata-chan trusted Snake-sama more than anyone she had ever met in the village before."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because she never had to see Snake-sama every day. She only saw her when she went on missions. And if Snake-sama was mad, then she would have time to get over it. Hinata must've felt she could trust Snake-sama because they were so alike. I've heard a bit about Snake-sama's childhood, and it's not pretty. She was a lot like Hinata."

Snake walked back into the room. She looked frightening. Her mask was still covered in blood and her clothes were also covered with the crimson substance. Sakura jumped slightly when she walked in. "Oh! Snake-sama! I didn't recognize you at first." She said, slightly unnerved.

"Aa. It's me." She looked over at her apprentice. She was stirring. "Uzumaki-sama, Snake-chan is waking."

"Hai." Sakura turned and got up to examine Hikari. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Hai, but my head is killing me. What happened?"

"You were attacked by ten ninja from Otogakure. Snake-sama tells me you held your own in the fight for a while. She said you took out five of them before you were knocked out."

"One of them hit you in the head with the hilt of a katana." Snake added.

"Snake-sama, gomen! I tried my hardest!"

"Don't worry, you did great. There were ten ninja nearer to your level than I'm comfortable with, and you had to fight them by yourself. You fought off five of them before you were knocked out. That was good work." Though her voice was emotionless, Hikari could tell she was proud.

"Demo, you had to get involved and get rid of the rest of them, didn't you?"

"Aa, but it's been such a long time since I've had to fight anyone for real. It was fun." Snake once again looked slightly demented with her posture and the blood covered mask on her face. "Let Uzumaki-sama look over you and make sure you don't have any major injuries, then we'll go home and you can rest."

"Hai." Sakura began to look the girl over, making sure it was safe to let Hikari go home instead of keeping her over night.

She found no reason to make her stay. "It's safe for her to go home. Just make sure she doesn't take part in any dangerous missions for the next two to three days."

"Aa." Snake motioned to Sasuke and Hikari to follow her out the door, and back to the Uchiha Mansion.

"Snake-sama, why haven't I seen any Hyuugas?"

"When Hinata died, Neji was to become the heir. He also went on a mission, and did not return. His body was found five days after he was to return. Hanabi was too young to become leader. They were going to wait until she was older to replace their leader, but Hiashi died three years before she was eligible to become leader. The Hyuugas did not agree on the next heir, so they disbanded. Most moved away from Konoha, and now live just outside the walls. Some live under the rule of the now-of-age Hanabi, others live under other Hyuugas, whom they like more."

"Wasn't Hinata of age to become leader when she was eighteen?"

"Iie. They changed it. The heir has to be twenty-five years old. Neji was twenty-six, but Hanabi was only twenty. She was twenty-two when her father died. Hinata died four years ago."

"People around here seem to respect you a lot. How did you gain their respect so quickly?"

"Easily. I gained the Hokage's trust, he made me ANBU, I rose in rank, and within a year I was leader. People admire a person with power who shows no hostility or any inclination to betray Konoha. Amazing that they trust me more than they trust you, but very understandable."

"I would trust Snake-sama with my life." Hikari put in.

"Even though you have no idea who she is?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't need to know who she is to know I can trust her."

**Six months later**

Sasuke and Hikari were at the market looking for food to restock the Uchiha Mansion. The Uchiha Avenger and two snakes had been living there for some time. Sasuke didn't mind the company of the ever-silent snake very much, but Hikari was much easier to live with than he thought she would be when they had first met. They agreed with eachother on many subjects.

The more time he spent in the village, the more freedom Snake was giving him. They now had their own rooms, though Snake's was connected to his just in case. The three had gotten closer, though neither Sasuke nor Snake were willing to admit it. She had begun to call him by his first name, instead of his last, reasoning that if they were living together, they might as well be more respectful. Even if it was only slightly.

Today, she had given him permission to go to the market with only Hikari as supervision. Either she trusted him, her apprentice, the both of them, or she had something she felt was more important to do. Neither could decide which it was, and they were conversing over this fact. Hikari thought she trusted both of them, but Sasuke thought she had something more important to do.

Hikari and Sasuke finished shopping and were now on their way home. "You're kidding right, Sasuke? Snake-sama believes that there's nothing more important than her job. There isn't anything she would do that would be more important to her!"

Just as Sasuke was about to reply, they ran into a ninja, or more accurately, he ran into them. He looked vaguely familiar to Sasuke, but he could not place who this ninja was. "Where is Snake-sama? I need to speak to her without delay." He stated.

"Snake-sama is back at the Uchiha Mansion. Follow me." Sasuke said, leading Hikari and the other ninja back to his home.

When they arrived, Snake was waiting at the door. "What's the rush? I didn't know you were back in town, Kankurou." She said.

"Hai. Naruto sent me to find you Snake-sama. Said I was being a lazy bum and he would tell Gaara about it if I didn't." Kankurou mumbled, trailing off.

"What does Hokage-sama need?" She asked, instantly alert. There hadn't been any recent Oto attacks, but that was still a possibility.

"Naruto requests your presence in his office immediately."

**(A/N: If you need me to explain what any of the Japanese words mean, please let me know and I'll start putting the definitions at the end of the chapters. I'm gonna go watch another episode of Full Metal Alchemist now. Ja ne!**

**Edit: I'm sorry! I just realized today that I made the mistake of typing Hiraku instead of Hikari. Snake-chan's name was originally Hiraku, but it was hard to type, so I changed it to Hikari. When I went back, I guess I overlooked changing that one. Again, sorry, but I've fixed it now.)**


	6. The Mission

**(A/N: Hello~ how are you all tonight? I'm kinda sleepy… -yawns- I have school tomorrow! -cries- Anywayz, I wanted to update before the Labor Day long weekend was over. Hehe I'm so tired right now though, cause I had a sleepover with one of my best friends last night and we stayed up until six thirty in the morning. We were going to do an all nighter, but she and I kinda fell asleep -.-' … I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed Snake's Legacy so far. It's you guys who have kept me inspired! ...I know. I'm odd, but I don't own Naruto. How depressing. Anywayz, on with the chapter!)**

Chapter 6: The Mission

Snake turned to Hikari and Sasuke. "Snake-chan, go to the Uchiha Mansion immediately. Sasuke, you're coming with me." She ran off, the Uchiha close behind, following Kankurou.

They arrived at the Hokage Tower, ran up the steps and knocked on the door of Naruto's office. "Enter."

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"

"Hai. I have a solo mission for you."

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, I'm on a mission. I'm guarding Sasuke, so a solo mission right now is impossible."

"Hm. Then I guess you will have to bring Uchiha with you. You are to go on a search and destroy mission. Hoshigake Kisame is your target."

"Will Uchiha be able to handle it?"

"He will not be there to fight. Your job is to kill Kisame. His job is to watch and if things get to out of hand, to become a distraction while you recover."

"I will not be a distraction. I will help her kill Kisame." Sasuke said angrily.

Snake turned to Sasuke. "You will only be in my way." She said emotionlessly, and then turned back to Naruto. "Continue, Hokage-sama."

"I want you to bring Snake-chan along to watch the Uchiha. This will be the perfect practice for her.

"Kisame was last spotted near the border of Wind Country and Fire Country, and I'm afraid he will become a problem if left to stay there. You have two weeks to go there, kill him, and return. This is an S-ranked mission. I will send out a rescue party if you do not return within five days of your two week limit. You will leave as soon as you pack. The guards will report to me what time you leave. Check with me as soon as you get back."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. We will be out of Konoha within the next two hours."

"Good. I will see you three in two weeks."

Snake turned and left his office, Sasuke following close behind. "So now you're doing a double mission?"

"Hai. Hokage-sama always does this, but never when I have been on guard duty. He usually sends me on search and kill missions, and tells me I'm in charge of finding someone while I'm out there. But never something like this. Hokage-sama is really desperate to find a way to prove to me that you're trustworthy."

They arrived home to the Uchiha mansion to search for Hikari, finding her sitting in her room, reading a book.

"Snake-chan, you've been given a mission by Hokage-sama. You are to come with me on a search and kill mission to look after Uchiha. Hand me my pack, get yours, and we'll get Uchiha's, then depart."

"Hai." She said, hopping off the bed and gathering said supplies with her mentor's help.

When they were prepared, they walked to the village gates, saying goodbye to the guards. Snake was to be the team's leader since it was supposed to be her solo mission in the first place. "We will make our way as quickly as we can to the spot directed by Hokage-sama to wait for the Akatsuki member Hoshigake Kisame. When he appears, I expect the both of you to stay in our hiding spot and whatever you do, do not come to my aid if I look like I'm loosing. Is that clear?"

"Hai, Snake-sama." Hikari said.

"If you're loosing, won't you need help, though?"

"No. If it appears that I'm loosing, stay out of my fight no matter what. You will only get in my way. Is this clear, Sasuke?"

"Hai." Sasuke growled.

"If you get in my way and get yourself killed, it will be your own fault." Snake turned and began to walk away. Hikari followed her. Sasuke growled again and walked after them.

**A few days later**

"We're nearing the border between Wind Country and Fire Country. Make sure you stay on our side of the border, clear? If we cross into the Wind Country, we will be most likely be mistaken for hostile ninja and attacked by ninja of that country."

"Hai." Sasuke and Hikari said at the same time. Sasuke was slowly growing used to having to take orders from someone, for he didn't argue as much. Though he didn't take the orders willingly.

They found a cave near a stream a little ways away from where they were standing. "Why don't we stop here?" Sasuke asked. "That way we're not too close to the border and we can still see who passes nearby."

"This is fine. Snake-chan, I'll go ahead and set up our tent. You can help set up Uchiha's tent if you want."

"Hai, Snake-sama." Hikari said. "Is it okay if I help you instead?"

"Aa." She paused for a minute, thinking. "Wait a moment. I have an idea. Instead of helping me, why don't you gather wood and start a cooking fire."

"Hai." Hikari ran off into the woods after doing a quick scan of the area.

"Is it safe to let her go off on her own? She's only eleven, ne? Is it safe to let her scour the woods for firewood with the Akatsuki on the loose?"

"She has her summoning jutsu, if she is attacked she can let me know, and she's almost an ANBU. She can take care of herself. You should be more worried about yourself when we run into Akatsuki members."

Sasuke growled, but turned and put up his tent.

When they were done, Snake began to pack everything of her's and Hikari's into the tent she just put up, so Sasuke began to put his gear in his tent. Sasuke was pretty sure that she was only doing this because she wondered where Hikari was, but didn't want to seem nervous. "Snake-sama, why are you putting Snake-chan's pack in the tents? Can't she do that when she returns?"

"Snake-chan hasn't returned."

"Are you wondering what happened to her?"

"Hai, who wouldn't?"

"Fine then, are you worrying about what happened to her?"

"Hai."

"Really?"

"Hai. I don't lie. I can't not be worried. She can take care of herself, but not against one of the Akatsuki. She's not that-" She broke off and tensed, hearing a rustling sound in the bushes nearby.

No more than a second later, she relaxed and Hikari stepped out of the undergrowth. "Snake-sama! I'm sorry I took so long. I found a lot of fire wood, and I dropped it all in the water when I got a drink, so I had to go back and gather more. Sumimasen."

"It's fine." Snake said simply. "I'll start the fire now." She took the wood from Hikari and began to pile it up. She backed away from it. "It would be easier if you lit it Sasuke. You have Katon: Goukakyu No Jutsu and at least you would be useful for something."

"Why should I do that?" He thought for a minute. "Hey! I'm not useless!"

"Light it." Snake said forcefully.

"Hn." Sasuke lit the fire.

Snake brought some food out of her pack and began to cook it. "I didn't know you could cook." Sasuke said.

"Of course. Did you think we ate out for every meal?" Snake replied.

"She's really a great cook!" Hikari added.

Snake finished cooking and they all sat down around the fire to eat. Sasuke tasted his. "You really are a good cook!" He exclaimed not wanting to admit it.

"You sound surprised. Did you think that just because I'm a good ninja, I can't cook?"

"No offense, but hai."

"Hn. Hurry up and finish so we can clean up and get to bed. We need an early start in the morning. I'm going to go ahead and go to sleep." Snake said, standing up and going into her tent with her food. Sasuke figured she didn't want to eat in front of them, didn't want to take off her mask.

Hikari and Sasuke soon finished and went to their separate tents. Sasuke was getting ready to go to bed when he heard a sound coming from the other tent. Snake was talking to Hikari. She had apparently waited for her to come in. She must not have wanted him to hear their conversation. But he was curious, so he decided to eavesdrop.

"Snake-chan, tomorrow we will be confronting Kisame of the Akatsuki. You need to watch Sasuke very closely. If he gets in my way, it could cost more than the battle. It may cost our lives. You need to keep him out of my way no matter what. Is that clear?"

"Snake-sama, is he really that weak that he would get in your way in battle?"

"Iie. Actually, he is very strong. Probably would be fun to spar with. But we have never fought together or against each other before. It is only wise to fight with a partner when you know their strengths and weaknesses. I know nothing about him, so it would be very hard to fight with him."

"Ah. So you want me to keep him out of your way because you have never fought together and that could be perilous to your mission. I will."

"Good. I'm going go ahead and get some sleep, now. You take first watch. Wake me at around one, okay?"

"Hai." Snake went to sit down on her sleeping bag. Soon she was asleep. Hikari walked out of the tent and sat down on the nearby stump of a tree. She stayed that way until one o'clock. Then she walked into the tent to wake Snake. "Snake-sama, wake up. It's your turn to sit watch."

Snake got up immediately. She looked up at Hikari and nodded her head slightly. "Report?"

"Uchiha hasn't left his tent all night; though I picked up some movement with my Byakugan that led me to believe he hasn't slept much."

"Good. I'll check to make sure he is asleep before I take up my post."

"With all due respect, Snake-sama, do you really think he's going anywhere? I mean, wouldn't he have snuck off while I was at watch instead of waiting until you started yours?"

"He might have snuck off by digging a hole and leaving a shadow clone in his tent while you were watching, for all you know. I am going to check to make sure he's still there."

"How are you going to do that, Snake-sama? You don't have Byakugan."

"But I do have stealth. I can look inside his tent without him ever knowing."

"But what if he's awake?"

"Don't worry, just get to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Shouldn't you have made your watch shorter? I mean, I'm not the one who's going to be fighting Kisame, so shouldn't I have taken a longer watch?"

"I can survive on this much sleep. I've gone on solo assassin missions before where I didn't get much sleep at all because I couldn't let my guard down. Like when I was sent on the mission to detain Itachi for questioning. Just get to sleep, okay." Snake said softly.

Hikari was silent for a moment before she agreed. She collapsed on her sleeping bag, giving in only because she was more tired than she led Snake to believe.

Snake walked out of the tent she shared with Hikari and toward Sasuke's. She listened for a moment, hearing nothing but even breathing, and lifted the flap slightly.

Instantly, Sasuke shot up into a defensive position, pulling a kunai from under his pillow and raising it. "Who are you and what do you want?" He demanded.

"Snake. Why so jumpy Sasuke?"

"Oh. It's just you."

"'Just me' asked a question. Lower your weapon and sit down." She ordered.

"Hn." He sat back down and put the kunai back under his pillow.

"Answer." Snake said menacingly.

"We're looking for Kisame, no?"

"Hai. Why should that matter?"

"Kisame is my brother's partner in the Akatsuki." Sasuke said, spitting out the words 'my brother' as if they were poison.

"You mean Itachi?"

"Hai."

"Demo, why so jumpy?"

"Because he's probably around, too. He killed my entire family single-handedly, didn't you know?"

"Of course I knew that. But why are you worried that he's around here?"

"Because he's powerful. I've got to be alert."

"Why are you speaking in present tense? Don't you mean was powerful?"

"What do you mean 'was'?"

"He's dead."

"Who killed him?" Sasuke was angry and shocked at the same time, a mixture of that reflecting on his face. _I'm going to kill whoever killed Itachi. He was supposed to be my target! I was supposed to be the one to kill him! That was the whole reason I went to Orochimaru for training!_

"I did." Snake said point blank, leaving Sasuke in even greater shock. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take my watch post."

**(A/N: I congratulate anyone who has figured out who Snake-sama is already. And virtual cookies to you. Her identity will be revealed in/around chapter nine. Read and review please.)**


	7. Sneaking Away

**(A/N: I'm baaack~ Thank you so much for sticking with me through this fanfic. I have no idea when it's going to end. -.-' …Well, I'm going to try to finish it within the next six or so chapters, but no promises. I have a poll posted on my profile and I need to know what you all think. Please check it out. I really need people to tell me what they think should happen. If no one will tell me what they want, then I won't be able to continue Snake's Legacy. I don't own Naruto. BTW: Tell me if you need the definitions of any of the Japanese words I've used.)**

Chapter 7: Sneaking Away

Sasuke layed back down and thought over what Snake had told him. _So Itachi is dead. My lifelong goal has been completed for me. All my training was a waste of time. I thought Naruto would have at least given me the chance to kill him. He knew the only reason I left was to get stronger so that I could kill Itachi. Why did he order Snake-sama to do it instead of letting me complete my training?_ Sasuke fell asleep with these thoughts and others swirling around in his mind.

_So the Uchiha is finally asleep. I'd better make sure that Hikari is asleep, too, before I put my plan into action._ Snake looked into the tent she shared with Hikari and found that the girl was out cold, probably exhausted from staying up half the night without being used to it. _Good. Now I can begin work on the strategy._ Snake left the tent without a sound and walked nearly a kilometer away from the campsite so that no one would be able to sense the chakra spike her plan would create. She made a shadow clone of herself and began instructing it on what to do when everyone woke up the next morning.

"When Hikari wakes up, make sure to inform her that you are my shadow clone and that you are there to make the Uchiha think that I'm there with them. I will be searching for and fighting Kisame tomorrow, so I will need you to stay with them for as long as possible. When I finish, or when I need to concentrate solely on the fight, I will have to call you back. But until then, I need you to put on a good act so that Uchiha will not be suspicious. Understand?"

"Hai." The shadow Snake responded positively.

"Now, I need for you to go back to the campsite and keep watch for anything that doesn't seem right, okay? Let me know if Kisame shows up there and I'll get back as fast as I can."

"Hai." The shadow Snake turned and raced through the trees back to Hikari and Sasuke.

"Good." The real Snake turned the opposite direction and began to search for clues as to where to find Kisame.

**Back at camp**

Sasuke shot up from his sleeping bag. This was the second time that night that he had been awakened. He had felt a spike of chakra and was trying to figure out to whom it belonged. He stood and walked out of the tent.

He looked around, trying to find Snake to ask her if she felt it also. He didn't see her. _I wonder where she is. She should be out here, watching for danger. _He walked to the tree stump he saw Snake sit down on after she left his tent. _She should be sitting right here. I wonder where-_ His thought was cut off as he heard a slight rustle in the trees.

Instantly, he brought out a kunai and looked around, ready to dash to Hikari's tent and wake her, then prepare to protect her. Sasuke activated his Sharringan and looked around. The bushes rustled to his left and he immediately turned that direction, while still being sure to look around him.

A person stepped out of the undergrowth and Sasuke sank into his battle stance, even though it didn't look like this person was prepared. _Looks can be deceiving._ Sasuke thought, his mind wandering to Hikari.

"What are you doing Uchiha?" The voice asked with a chilling -bordering on emotionless- tone.

"Snake-sama?"

"I asked you what you were doing. Why are you standing outside your tent, raising a kunai against me?"

"Did you feel that chakra spike?" Sasuke asked the snake ANBU, lowering the kunai slightly, aware that this could be a transformation jutsu to make him lower his guard.

"Hai. I went to check it out, but whoever created it was already gone. Now answer my question." Snake said with an iron edge in her voice.

"I felt the chakra spike and I came out to see if you felt it too. You were gone though, so I stayed out her to keep watch until you got back. You were behind the bushes and masking your chakra signature, so I didn't know who you were."

"Well, now you know, so put that kunai away and deactivate your Sharirngan." Sasuke did as she said, realizing that this was indeed Snake. "Now go back to bed. We have a lot of traveling to do tomorrow."

Sasuke reluctantly turned started for his tent. Before he stepped in though, he realized something. "That was your chakra out there." He said, finally identifying the chakra signature he felt.

"Iie. That was not my chakra signature."

"Yes it was. I know what it feels like. I've felt your chakra surge before. You know, when you fought those Oto ninja. The chakra out there was the same signature as then."

"You must be mistaken."

"Prove it."

"I don't have to prove anything to you." Snake said, her emotionless whisper muffled by her mask.

"Then how will I know you're still loyal to Konoha? That could have been you out there, activating a jutsu to let Kisame know that we're nearby."

"You know, you are a smart little fool. That wasn't me. I can assure you that if it was me, Snake-chan would have woken up immediately. She is trained to sense my chakra, and when on missions, she can tell you if my chakra spiked, even if she was asleep. Shall I go wake her to put your fears at rest?" Snake asked in a voice that would have been a taunt had there been emotion in it.

"Iie."

"What time is it Uchiha?"

Sasuke was surprised by the sudden change of subject, but answered her question after looking at the moon's position in the sky. "Around four in the morning. Why?"

"Go back to your tent and get some rest. Now. We leave in two hours." Snake ordered.

Sasuke turned and reluctantly made his way back to his tent. Even though Snake seemed perfectly normal, Sasuke was sure that was her chakra out there, and he was positive that something was amiss. He pondered what could have happened for a few moments before deciding that he would stay up and keep watch over Snake to make sure that she didn't go anywhere for the rest of the night.

**The Next Day, With Snake**

_Where could he be? I don't remember him as being the smart one. He couldn't have hidden himself this well. He must have a new partner. Though I wonder who it is. Hokage-sama has killed most of them. Uzumaki-sama and myself, also. I believe Hidan, Kisame, Leader-sama, and Konan are the only ones left. I suppose Hidan is Kisame's partner now, although, I don't remember Hidan being so good at hiding._ Snake thought as she traveled, looking for any sign that the Akatsuki member had passed. There was not a single one.

She was beginning to think they had been fed incorrect information. She had been searching for several hours when she came across a large, odd village. Odd because there was no one in it though it looked as though it had been occupied recently. She entered one of the houses the sight that met her was one that was, in an understatement, horrid.

The bodies of a man and woman that looked to be in their mid forties were lying on the floor, gaping holes where their hearts and stomachs should have been.

Snake continued to walk through the rooms of the house, searching. She came across more bodies, this time of children. There were two of them, both around the same age of nine. Snake quickly left the room, unable to stop a tear that rolled down her cheek, though no one would know because of her mask.

She decided to search the entire village for survivors, though in all the houses she checked, much the same sight met her eyes each time.

She came to the final house and entered with her katana held ready. Though only the dead were in the past houses, she had no clue whether Kisame or Hidan might have stayed behind in a house, hiding. She knew it had to be the two Akatsuki members who did this because no other assassins were this strong – or cruel. Only Kisame and Hidan could destroy such a large village as this one.

Or they could have been waiting for her. Even Kisame would be able to figure out that they were being followed by her chakra swell from last night. _I can't believe I was smart enough to mask my chakra when I snuck out of camp but forgot to muffle it as much as possible when I used that jutsu. I'm so stupid. I hope I didn't wake Hikari. Though I know it would have made it easier, she needs to sleep. Worse even, I hope I didn't wake the Uchiha. I really hope I didn't wake him up. How would my clone explain her absence? Oh well, no one has followed me yet, so I guess everything went smoothly. _She discontinued her thoughts there as she walked carefully onto the porch, looking and sensing for traps in the house.

Finding none, Snake entered, still careful to keep her weapon in front of her. Searching each room more carefully than the rest, she found nothing.

Surprised because she was positive she had smelled blood from this house, she came to the furthest room in the house. The door to it was slightly ajar and the scent of blood was strong from within. _So this is where the people are._ Snake thought just before she opened the door.

Slowly, carefully, the door swung open. Snake found the bodies of what she thought were a man and woman lying on the floor, but they were only recognizable by the color of the clothes they wore. The bodies had been shreded, probably by Samehada or Hidan's scythe. Glancing around the room, she saw something move from the corner of her eyes. Raising her weapon once more and sliding into her battle stance, she moved toward the direction the movement came from.

"Hidan, I know you're here, stop hiding like a coward and face me." Snake said as she once again spotted the blur of movement.

"F…! She found me!" Hidan said as he stepped out of the shadows. "D… Kisame for making me stay behind and make sure everyone was dead!"

"Quite a dirty mouth, ne? Why such a fuss?"

"Shut the f… up! Who the h… are you anyway?"

"Snake, leader of the Konoha ANBU. You are going to give a message to Kisame for me."

"What the f… makes you think I'll do anything you say?"

"Because if you don't, you die here."

"What makes you think you can kill me?"

"I killed Itachi, and I almost killed your leader. Konan came and saved him though. I swear I will find a way to kill your little immortal butt."

"Ooh. I'm so scared." Hidan taunted. "An ANBU from Konoha has come to give me a death threat. Her and her d… little village are such f…ing softies. You can't kill me." Hidan smirked as a clone walked up behind Snake and slashed just below her shoulder blade with his scythe, creating a deep gash.

Snake cried out and fell to her knees, desperately grasping at her back, trying to staunch the flow of blood. "Is this the full power of the mighty Hebi no Konoha? You're pretty pitiful."

Snake smirked as she saw a second shadow looming above her, just behind Hidan. Hidan didn't notice the shadow, as he was too busy focusing on the hand signs that would allow him to make his sacrifice to Jashin. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he froze mid-sign when the shadow stabbed a kunai through his stomach. He swiftly turned around and looked at his attacker.

A second clone of Snake's stood behind him, smirking. "No. You haven't even seen half of my power yet. Right now, I'm concentrating on keeping up a shadow clone jutsu for the one behind you, and one back at my camp." Snake said from in front of him, though still in pain, she was smirking like her counterpart.

Snake jumped out from in front of him just as her clone slammed him up into the wall. She quickly took her clone's place and held Hidan against the wall with her kunai raised. She slashed the weapon across his face, nearly gouging his eye out. "Take this message to Kisame or I will chop your body into little pieces and feed you to the wolves, I swear." Snake said menacingly as her clone disappeared.

Hidan nervously laughed and looked around. "Sh..!" He muttered under his breath. "Alright, I'll take your f…ing message!"

"Tell Kisame that Hebi no Konoha is coming to murder him."

"Is that all, your highness?" Hidan sneered with mock loyalty.

"Yes. He'll know what you mean. Just tell him you ran into a Konoha ANBU and she gave you a message. Then, tell him she's the Snake of Konoha, and is on her way to kill him. Clear?"

"Tch. Whatever." Hidan replied. Snake let him go and he quickly left the village.

She turned around and dropped to her knees in pain. That win had cost her a lot of blood. She was loosing it rapidly and, at this rate, she would die if she failed to patch up her wound. As she reached for her medical supply bag, her vision began to get fuzzy. Just after she had found her bandages, she blacked out, falling to the ground in a heap of blood, clothes, and flesh.

**Back at Camp**

Sasuke was beginning to get suspicious of where Snake had really gone last night. It was already ten o'clock in the morning and they had yet to clean up camp. "Don't we need to search for Kisame? I thought it was an urgent mission."

"It is, but Snake-chan didn't sleep well last night. She needs to rest if she's going to keep up with you today."

"What did you really do last night?"

"Exactly what I told you I did."

"Oh, really? Tell me one more time exactly what you did, onegai?" Sasuke said sarcastically.

Snake hissed. "Last night I went into the woods-" Sasuke gaped as Snake disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Suddenly, Hikari shot out of her tent. "Uchiha, pack up. It's time to go." She said, frenzied.

"What's wrong?"

"Snake-sama's not here. She left late last night to search for Kisame. Her clone was supposed to stay here and stall until she was far enough away that we wouldn't be able to find her unless she wanted to be found. She knew you wouldn't appreciate being left behind, so she left her clone here to make sure you didn't try to follow. But the clone wasn't supposed to disappear until noon. It's only ten now, so something must have gone wrong. Either Snake-sama has found Kisame and the fight is going in his favor, or she has been hurt and has fallen unconscious. We need to find her now."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Snake-sama, hurt? Sure he didn't care too much for the woman, but he couldn't imagine her being injured after the fight between her and the Otogakure ninja he witnessed. He quickly packed his things and took off running with Hikari just ahead of him.

**Later that day**

Snake slowly sat up and looked around. She remembered getting slashed by Hidan's scythe and sending a message to Kisame through him after besting the man. Then she remembered she needed to patch the wound and nothing after that. _Did I pass out? If so, then how am I alive? Wait a moment…_ Snake trailed off as she noticed the daylight was brighter than it usually was in her sensitive eyes. Slowly, she reached her hand up to her cheek, only to touch skin.

Frantically, she looked about the room, locating her mask on the dresser beside the only bed in the room. Snake stood from her prostrate position on the floor and walked across the room to retrieve it. She looked on the bed and found that her outer ANBU uniform had been laid out there. _I wonder who did this._

Snake snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a noise coming from inside the room, to her left. She looked to find a chest that was closed, but not locked. Cautiously, Snake walked over to it and carefully lifted the top open with a kunai held against her chest in defense.

"Onegai! Onegai, have mercy! Don't kill me!" Snake looked into the chest to find a boy of about seven or eight cowering away from her, droplets of saline liquid running slowly down his tiny cheeks.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." The ANBU said. She gradually lowered her hand to pat the kid on the head. He flinched every time she touched him. "Come here, chiisai kodomo. There's no reason to be scared." She said gently.

"But you're a ninja! Mommy told me ninja are only killers. Isn't that all you do?"

"Iie, Hanii. We get rid of the evil people who hurt other people. That way everyone stays safe. That's why I'm here. Those men that attacked this village need to be taken down before they make more villages hurt like this one."

The young kid whimpered before turning to look at the pieces of bodies on the floor. Snake picked the boy up and carried him into a different room after collecting her supplies. "What's your name?" She asked gently.

"Takeshsi Keigo." The boy whispered.

"Keigo, I need to know whether you lived in this village or not, and what happened."

"I did. That mean fish guy and the white haired guy you fought attacked us. They were scary. They went through every house and killed everyone they found.

"Okaa-sama and Otou-san hid me and were about to go hide themselves when they walked into our house. The blue fish man killed Okaa-sama and Otou-san right there." Keigo said, pointing to the room he and Snake had just left. "Thank you for making the white haired man leave. He was about to find my hiding spot when you walked into the house. He hid when you walked into the room. What do I call you? Do you want me to call you The Snake of Konoha? Or do you want me to call you by your name?"

"My name is Snake. It doesn't matter what you call me though." She replied, patting Keigo's head and gently picking him up.

"Where are we going?" He asked her.

"We're going to go find my friends and I'll leave you with them. I left a clone of me with them, and when I passed out, it disappeared. My friend knows that when that happens before the time I told her, something went wrong. Oh! By the way, were you the one that bandaged me up?"

"Hai, Snake. I didn't want to see anyone else die, but I didn't expect you to look for me."

Snake smiled. "Before we go and find my friends, I need to go get my mask and uniform back on." Snake started to open the door to the room they were in previously when she thought better of bringing the boy back in there. "You stay out here, okay. I'll be right back."

Keigo nodded and Snake opened the door and slipped inside the room. She slipped back into her ANBU armor and lowered her mask over her face. She ghosted back out of the room and closed the door once more. "Ready, Keigo-kun?"

"Hai." He said. Snake reached down and picked him up, knowing they could travel faster that way.

"Have you ever wanted to run really fast?" She asked the boy in her arms.

"Mmhmm!" The boy nodded to emphasize his statement.

"Good. Because your wish is about to come true." Snake said as she began to run back in the direction of the campsite she had left. She was sure to run into the two Konoha ninjas if she went in that direction. The little boy laughed, delighted to feel the wind whipping past them.

She had not traveled for more than ten minutes when she felt the head of the little boy she was carrying fall on her shoulder._ He fell asleep. Poor Keigo, he must have been up all night because of Kisame and Hidan. Curse those heartless monsters. _She kept pace, running through the forest, back toward the campsite.

**(A/N: I appreciate all of you out there who have read my story, and those of you who have reviewed it. Thank you so much! I know there are lots of people reading this! I have a ton of hits, but not that many reviews. I know you're probably getting tired of seeing this but please, please, please, read and review! ...You've probably already read it though, so there's just one easy step left. That little review button down below needs some love! ;) Teehee.)**

Definitions:

Chiisai – small

Kodomo – child

Onegai – please

Okaa-sama – mother

Tou-san - father


	8. Found Him!

**(A/N: Konnichiwa, minna-san! Like Snake's Legacy? I still have the poll posted on my profile and I really need people to tell me how they think Snake's Legacy should end. The poll will be over when I post chapter nine. Please vote? Otherwise, I won't know how you want it to end. Read and review please!)**

Chapter 8: Found Him!

An hour after she had left the village, she met up with the rest of her team. She had shifted the boy's position from her side to her back, making it easier to run. He still had not woken up, and she expected him to sleep a while longer. That is, until she was spotted by Hikari.

"Snake-sama!" Hikari shrieked when she saw her. "You're okay!" The girl ran up to her and hugged her until Snake pushed her away slightly. "Right, gomen, no emotions." She said, slightly dejected.

Snake shook her head. But before she could open her mouth to explain that she was trying not to wake Keigo, Sasuke asked a question. "Snake-sama, who is that?" He asked.

"This is Keigo." Snake said simply.

"Why is he with you?" Sasuke asked.

Snake was silent.

"They've done it again, haven't they?" Snake nodded in answer to Hikari's inquiry.

"Done what?" A confused Sasuke was the result of their silent confirmations.

"The Akatsuki have destroyed another village. I can't believe they did that, especially when they knew we were after them." Hikari answered

"It was Kisame and Hidan who destroyed Keigo's village. He is the only survivor. And he saved my life."

Keigo stirred slightly and Snake shifted his position again so that he was balanced on her hip and she had one hand free. He was leaning his head on her shoulder when he stirred again a few moments later. He mumbled something unintelligible, then sat rigid, eyes wide with fear. "Okaa-sama, Otou-san, iie!"

"Shh. It's okay, Keigo-kun. Your safe, don't worry. Remember, I'm Snake. We found my friends." Snake said gently, rubbing his back in comfort.

Keigo turned his head and looked around. He saw Hikari and Sasuke and his eyes widened even more. "Who are they? Are they your friends?"

"Hai."

Keigo visibly relaxed. "Can I get down, Snake-san?"

"Of course." Snake said, almost laughing as she put him on the ground. She pointed at the two ninja in front of her and said, "This is Uchiha Sasuke, who is under my watch for the next year and a half, and this is Hikari." She said, pointing to each person respectively.

"Yaa! I'm Takeshi Keigo!"

"Konnichiwa, Keigo. I'm Snake-sama's daughter, but she adopted me a while ago. My real mother is Hinata."

Keigo's eyes widened in admiration. "Wasn't she the pretty Hyuuga girl that had to go on an S-ranked mission to inherit the clan?"

"She was." Hikari said, avoiding the fact that her mother wasn't a Hyuuga when she went on that mission.

"Hinata-chan passed through our village when she went looking for Uchiha Itachi! How did her mission go? She didn't pass through on her way back like she said she would."

"She was killed when she confronted him, Hanii." Snake said tenderly.

"Really?" Keigo asked, eyes watering at the thought of another person killed.

Gomen, hai." Snake said. Suddenly, Snake stood straight and rigid. She turned to Hikari and silently communicated with her. _Stay here with Keigo and Uchiha. Kisame is near. Hidan too._ She hesitated for a moment, then changed her mind. _Take Keigo somewhere else. I'll watch the Uchiha._

Hikari paused for a second before nodding. _Snake-sama knows what she's doing. I'd better follow her instructions._ "Keigo-kun, come here for a minute. Would you like to go for a walk?"

"Sure!" Keigo said, excited to get away from Sasuke. _Sasuke-san is scary. But I like Hikari-chan._ He thought, walking toward the other girl.

"Okay, let's go!" Hikari said, leading Keigo away through the trees just as Kisame came crashing into the clearing where Snake and Sasuke were still standing.

"Hoshigake." Snake said as he attacked with Samehada. She dodged, barely though. "You thought you could beat me using the element of surprise? You were smarter than I-Itachi." She shook her head at her foolishness in stuttering and continued. "He underestimated me. Thought he could be the hero of the Akatsuki by approaching me and using his normal tricks. At least you tried for surprise. Though you failed. Nice attempt."

Kisame growled at the mention of his partner. "Itachi was no idiot. He was the smartest person in Akatsuki. I didn't like him much, but because of you, I'm stuck with the Jashin freak now!" He ran forward. "Suiton, Suishousa!" A wave appeared and he began riding it as it crashed towards Snake.

Snake tried to dodge, but was too late. She was swept away by the current of the water and slammed into a nearby tree.

Kisame laughed. "And here I thought you would be powerful." He taunted.

Snake stood shakily. "You haven't yet seen my power. Mizu Buushin no Jutsu!" Two more Snakes appeared beside her as she ran at Kisame, each Snake pulling out their Katana getting ready to strike.

Just when two of the Snakes got close enough to strike, Kisame exclaimed, "Suiton: Suikodan no Jutsu!" The three Snakes immediately stopped and prepared to dodge the Sharks' water blasts. Two of them dodged, but the other wasn't so lucky and was destroyed. The last two Snakes threw senbon at Kisame from the air, striking him in the shoulder and hands.

"Those senbon are dipped in poison. Unless you're immune to it, you'll die within the next few minutes." The real Snake said, landing behind him.

Kisame, angered, turned around, aiming a punch for Snake's ANBU mask. The punch connected, shattering her mask and causing her to flinch and fall backward with the force. "What! You're that little girl Itachi-" Snake stood and quickly covered his mouth. She slipped a kunai out of her sleeve and swiftly slit Kisame's neck in his surprised paralysis.

She turned toward Sasuke, who involuntarily gasped. "You're-"

"I know who I am Uchiha." Snake said, interrupting him. "If you tell anyone my identity, Uchiha Sasuke will mysteriously disappear from the village. No one will know why. And I won't tell a soul of the reason. But they will find your body near Oto and believe you are a traitor."

"H-hai. I won't." Sasuke said, believing her words.

**(A/N: Cookies to any of you who have guessed who Snake-sama is. It might be who you least expected, or it might not be. Who knows? Can anyone guess who Hikari's father is? Leave a review and tell me who you think Snake is and Hikari's dad's identity!)**


	9. Toward Home

**(A/N: I'm listening to Liquid by Jars Of Clay right now. I love that song. I'm not entirely sure why. *shrugs* I wonder…how many people actually read my authors notes? I don't think many people read them. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I can ramble all I want and only the select few who read this will ever know *laughs manically* Gomen nasai! Onegai forgive me, but today the chapter is just going to be a sort of filler/connecter chapter. Again, sorry, but if I let this go into the next chapter, it'll get way too long for me. Anywayz, on with the story!)**

Chapter 9: Toward Home

"Demo, are you really Hinata?" Sasuke asked the unmasked Snake.

"Hai. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Iie. Its just I thought you were dead. So does Hikari and the rest of the village."

"Your point?"

"How could you fake your death like that?"

"It was very simple. Not hard at all. No one ever expected that a weakling heiress like me could be an ANBU leader. Nor did they expect I'd be a match for Uchiha Itachi." Snake almost growled.

"But what about Hikari?"

"She's taken care of, ne? Before you ask, Hokage-sama is the only one who knows who I am and why." Before Sasuke could respond, she turned and walked to where Hikari had dropped their bags earlier. She reached into the bag that was hers and pulled out another mask. "I can't believe I let him catch me off guard like that." She muttered as she put on her mask and turned back to Sasuke. "Come on Sasuke. We need to go find Snake-chan and Keigo, then make our way back home." Hinata turned and jumped off into the woods in the direction that Hikari had gone.

Sasuke took off after her, wondering what could have happened to Hinata to make her like she was now.

Hinata and Sasuke caught up to Hikari and Keigo quickly. "Snake-chan, mission successful. We need to make our way back to Konoha." She said, acting as though nothing had changed. She took the lead and began to leap through the trees back towards Konoha.

Sasuke fleetingly wondered whether she cared that he knew who she was or not. He barely had time to think that before Hinata turned around and signaled that he needed to move or be left behind.

They had traveled a few minutes in silence when suddenly, Hinata froze, signaling for the other three to do the same.

Hikari gasped and pulled out a kunai. She threw it towards her left and pulled out her katana, getting ready to swipe at the bushes. Something caught her by the wrist and she quickly turned her head to see Hinata holding it. "What are you doing?" She hissed at her apprentice.

"There's an enemy ninja in the woods over there. Why shouldn't I attack them?"

"Because it's not an enemy ninja over there. It's-"

"But they are masking their presence and they have weapons with them!"

"They are Inuzuka-san and Aburame-sama, and I don't think they appreciate it when you attack them during a tiring mission. Especially when we are from the same village."

"Arigatou, Snake-chan." Kiba said, coming out of the bushes with Shino and handing Hikari her kunai back. Sasuke studied both men and noticed that they were both jounin.

Hikari started laughing nervously. "Sumimasen. You were masking your presence so I thought you were enemies."

"Ah, our ever vigilant little ANBU. One day, you're going to kill us all, thinking we're enemies. That or mistake an enemy for us." Kiba joked. Both he and Hikari laughed, Hinata and Shino remained emotionless, and Sasuke smirked. "Anyway, Snake-chan, what are you doing out here with these two?" Kiba pointed to Hikari and Sasuke.

"Track and kill mission. Hoshigake Kisame of the Akatsuki. Mission successful. We're on our way to report to Hokage-sama. Are you on your way back to Konoha or leaving for a mission?"

"We've just finished our mission, so we're on our way back." Kiba said.

"Why do you call Snake-sama 'Snake-chan'?" Sasuke asked Kiba.

"Because she reminds me of Hinata when she's with the little kids of the village." Kiba said, not knowing that it really was Hinata he was talking to a few seconds prior.

"Do you know who she is?"

"Iie. No one but Naruto does. Why?"

"I was just curious. Naruto called her Snake-chan earlier."

"Snake-sama, I think we need to get back to Konoha before we're attacked by rouges or someone like them. Keigo-kun needs to get to a village soon so he can rest. He looks very tired." Hikari pointed out.

"Hai. Aburame-sama, would you and Inuzuka-san like to travel back with us?" Hinata asked.

The two glanced at each other, nodded, and Kiba answered. "Sure." The group, now two people larger, headed on their way back home. "So, who is this?" he asked, for the first time noticing Keigo.

"This is Keigo. He comes from one of the larger villages at the edge of Fire Country. I was searching for Kisame and found a village that had been destroyed recently. That's where I found Keigo. But I also found Hidan. I fought him, but underestimated him, and he cut me with his scythe. I would have bled to death if not for this little guy." Hinata said, ruffling his hair gently. She got closer to Kiba and Shino. "He was the only survivor. I've been to that village before. They were all kind and I promised to come back, but I had no idea it would be when they had all passed on."

Hinata jumped back to her original spot at the head of the group, with Shino slightly behind her on the right, Sasuke level with him on her left, Kiba behind Shino, and Hikari with Keigo behind Sasuke.

Soon, they stopped to make camp and set up their separate tents, sharing the watch this time with Shino and Kiba.

They continued this pattern until they were only about half a day from Konoha. Then, Sasuke decided to ask the other team some questions, because he knew he would get no answers from Hinata or Hikari. "How well do you know Snake-sama?" He asked Shino.

"Not well."

"What do you know about her?"

Shino was silent. However, Kiba replied solemnly. "He hasn't talked as much since Hinata disappeared. Seeing as he never talked that much before, it's almost like talking to a wall." He joked weakly.

Sasuke was about to press for a little more information on what they knew when Hikari asked Kiba a question. "So what was your mission?"

"We went to Naruto and requested another mission to search for Hina-chan. Even though we know that there isn't much of a chance of finding her any more. I think Naruto was just humoring us this time. He said this was the last time we could do this." He replied, bowing his head slightly.

"We're here." Hinata said from the front of the group.

"What?" Sasuke and Hikari said at the same time.

"We're back at the village. Snake-chan, take Keigo back to the Uchiha Mansion. Sasuke, you and I will go deliver the mission report to Hokage-sama. Aburame-sama, Inuzuka-san, ja ne."

"Same to you Snake-chan." Kiba said, speaking apparently for the both of them. The two of them walked through the gates ahead of Hinata's group, more than just a little disappointed. Hikari and Keigo followed close behind, taking the path to the Uchiha Mansion instead of following Kiba and Shino.

Finally, Hinata and Sasuke walked through the gates of Konoha, towards the Hokage Tower. The two climbed the stairs to the floor with Naruto's office on it.

Hinata walked up to his office door and knocked. "Enter." Naruto's voice sounded from behind. She opened the door and walked inside, Sasuke following her and shutting the door.

"Snake-sama! How did your mission go?"

"It was a success. Though I may need to go to the hospital to get Uzumaki-sama to check a few of my wounds."

"You may let Sasuke stay here while you do that. Come back when you're through."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Hinata said as she disappeared from the office.

** (A/N: Hahahah! I finally finished! Despite the fact that this chapter is kinda short, it took a long time for me to write. -.-' Anywayz this chapter made me think too much. I'm having a sort of writer's block. I couldn't figure out how to pull two important events together. That's why it took so long to write I guess. Hehe heh. Oh, I've decided to extend the voting until tomorrow, which is Saturday. You can also vote on how it ends via review. Here's the question: How do you think Snake's Legacy should end? Happy, Sad, or Dramatic Happy? R&R please.)**


	10. History of Hinata

**(A/N: WARNING: SASUKE IS VERY OOC IN THIS CHAPTER [coughcoughstorycoughcough]. GOMEN NASAI. I LIKE CAPS LOCK! I ALSO FINALLY OWN NARUTO!!! ALL BECAUSE I BOUGHT OUT KISHIMOTO. [coughnaruto,itachi,gaara,andsasukeplushiescough] By the way, voting has officially ended. But there was a tie. So I'm going to do a sad ending first, but then I'm going to do an alternate ending that is dramatically happy. **

**Final Poll Results:**

**Sad: 3**

**Dramatically Happy: 3**

**Happy: 1) **

Chapter 10: History of Hinata

"Naruto, I want to know who Hikari's father is. If you don't tell me, I'll tell everyone in the village Snake-sama's identity." He slammed his fists down on the desk in front of the Hokage, his eyes demanding as his voice.

"Really? And how do you know who she is?" Naruto asked, surprised only by his sudden curiosity about Hikari.

"When she was fighting Kisame, he punched her in the face and her mask broke."

"Who is she, then?"

"You should know. She's Hinata."

"Hinata-chan has been dead for four years."

"She has not and you know perfectly well that she is Snake. There's no reason for you to trust a stranger enough to make her an ANBU as soon as she gets to the village, no matter how close they were to a villager."

Naruto sighed. He had hoped this wouldn't happen. "There is much about Hinata that I don't know."

"You know who Hikari's father is. She has red eyes, so he can only be one of four people. Actually, only two people could be her father. My brother, Itachi, you, Madara, and me. I know it's not me, and you've got a wife. So who? I want to know the whole story. How she ended up like this, everything." Sasuke narrowed in determination. He resolved to find out what had happened.

Naruto glanced at his friend. He didn't think Sasuke would give up until he knew the whole story, so he decided to give in before an argument got started. "You might not have noticed it, but when we were little, Hinata always used to wear a huge jacket all the time, even in summer. Do you have any idea why?"

"Iie. I never could figure that out. I always thought she was shy. Was there another reason?"

"She was shy, but that was only part of the reason that she wore that jacket. She told me eight years ago why she always wore that jacket. We had been going out for two years and she still hadn't completely opened up to me. But she finally told me. It was because her father pushed her too hard. He would train with her everyday, no matter what, until she won against him, collapsed from physical pain, or was exhausted from both chakra and energy. She called it sparring with him, but I called it beatings. She wore the jacket to hide the bruises and scars."

"She wore the jacket so no one would know about her beatings. An order from her father, I presume?"

"It was. But he abandoned her eight years ago. That was the only reason she was able to tell me."

"What did she do then?" Sasuke asked.

"She rented an apartment at the Hokage Tower for a while. But before she was abandon, twelve years ago, she was out on a mission with Kiba and Shino. The guys said that Hinata disappeared during all the nights they were out there. This was normal for her back before she was a Chuunin, but after she became one, she no longer snuck out. Then, on that one mission as a Jounin, she snuck out every night. We had no idea why at the time."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but Naruto cut in, "I'll explain it later." Sasuke just nodded.

Naruto continued. "Then, four years after that mission, she was abandoned along with her daughter, Hikari. Five years ago, Sakura and I got married. Hinata and I had broken up a few years earlier. About four years ago to this day, Hiashi died, and the Hyuuga clan extended an invitation to let Hinata back into the clan as their leader, but only if she could complete the S-ranked mission that all leaders must complete. I didn't want to assign it to her, but she insisted that she could handle it. Her mission was to kill Akatsuki member Uchiha Itachi.

"She left for the mission and never came back, that's the story you'll hear if you ask any of the villagers. Everyone assumed she had died in her confrontation with Itachi, though she never actually met up with him during her mission. The villagers assumed there was no body because the Akatsuki wanted the secrets of the Byakugan, and accepted Hinata's death without question.

"'Snake-sama' showed up six days after Hinata was declared dead, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Hai." Naruto answered.

It was silent for a few moments. Finally, the Hokage started talking again. "Do you remember when I said that Kiba and Shino told me that Hinata snuck out on that mission twelve years ago?"

"Hai."

"She snuck out to meet with Hikari's father. I have no idea as to why she chose him. But she snuck out to meet your brother, It-"

"Doesn't that make her a traitor then?!" Sasuke demanded in a shouted whisper.

"Iie. She is as loyal to Konoha as she has ever been. Her relationship with Itachi does not change the fact that Hinata killed him, also."

"But why did she kill Itachi?"

"I don't know. I didn't order her to. She did it while she was out on a mission. She snuck away from her teammates to kill him apparently. She -posing as Snake-sama-, Chouji, and Shikamaru were on their way home from the mission when she found Itachi. When Hinata came back, she was covered in blood. Chouji said she was murmuring broken-heartedly something along the lines of 'I killed him.' It had stormed that night, so it looked as though, while holding his body, she was an angel, one who was mourning, for she did not carry herself with great power, she looked crushed. Hinata was carrying Itachi's body and stayed standing until Shikamaru took him from her, then collapsed. That's the story Shikamaru told me, and Chouji's was almost identical. That's as much as I know about her relationship with him.

"As for why she is unfeeling now, when Hiashi abandoned her, she was hurt deeply. She was an orphan, no family whatsoever except for Hikari. She did manage to stay in touch with Neji, who gave her information on how the clan and her sister were doing.

"When Hinata 'died', Neji was the next in line to be heir. I think she planned it that way. Her having the freedom to do whatever she wanted without the clan's judgment, and Neji ruling it, I mean. But Neji went out on his S-ranked mission, he was to kill Kakuzu, and he perished. He killed Kakuzu, but he was killed in the process. When the news reached her that he was dead, I believe that was when she lost her emotions.

Her father hated her, her mother was dead, her only friend in the clan was dead, her sister left to rule a ruthless clan, Itachi had left the village for good and died as a result, I guess that all came crashing down on her.

"But why couldn't you or one of her teammates help her?" Sasuke interrogated.

"I was married, but that's beside the point. She wouldn't let anyone get close to her. I only know what I told you because she told me all of this when she arrived in my office after she 'died'. She had emotions until Neji died, then she changed. I watched her change. You don't know how hard it is to watch a person you think of as your sister be crushed by emotions she shouldn't have to hide. It's almost like what you experienced with your parents. Except watching a sister die slowly from the inside.

Sasuke took a minute to process this information.

"What she really needs is someone to love her like Itachi did. As much as I hate to say it, I wish he was still alive to heal the wounds on her heart that pain has left behind."

"Thank you for telling the traitor my life story." An icy cold voice said from the doorway.

Naruto sucked in a silent gasp when he saw that it was Hinata who spoke. "Ah-"

"Don't bother." Hinata said in the same steely voice. "Uchiha!" She barked. "Are you finished listening to my life as told by Hokage-sama, or do you want me to show you just how emotionless I am?!" She growled at the end of her sentence, a sign of exactly how angry she was.

"Iie! Let's go home. I'm sure Snake-chan and Keigo are getting worried." Sasuke said, almost with malice. He was still thinking of Itachi being Hikari's father.

Hinata swept silently out of the room, knowing Sasuke would follow. The two left a stricken Naruto in their wake.

"If you ever speak one word about what Hokage-sama told you in there, you will die a slow and painful death." She hissed to Sasuke once they left the Hokage building.

Sasuke decide to chance one question. "Do you ever miss Itachi?"

Hinata froze and turned on Sasuke so fast that he would have missed it if he hadn't had the Sharringan. "I told you not to talk about that on the threat of death!" She hissed icily.

"Just answer that one question. Onegai?"

"What do you think?!"

"I think you do."

"And what in the world makes you think that?"

"You reacted violently to the question. I think that you miss him so much it hurts. Why did you kill him if you knew you would feel this anguish?"

"You said one question. That, I believe, would be two. Which would you like me to answer?" Hinata asked, once more gaining her emotionless mask.

"The second one."

"I didn't kill him."

"What do you mean!? When you met Kisame in the woods, he said you were that girl who did something. But you covered his mouth before he could say what. What part did you have in Itachi's death?"

"That's another question. I've answered your one already."

"Argh! You just left me even further in the dark!"

"I know. That's why I answered. I wouldn't have if it would have put you further in the light. No one is supposed to know me. I refuse to get close to anyone. It only brings pain." Hinata continued walking. Sasuke continued also, infuriated because of the lack of answer. They walked in a heavy silence all the way back to the Uchiha Mansion.

Hinata quickly masked her anger and regained her emotionless state, just before they entered the compound.

"Snake-sama! What took you so long?" Hikari said from the front yard of Sasuke's house, where she was sitting under a tree, watching Keigo play.

"I had to go to the hospital to get my wounds healed and rewrapped. Keigo, Uzumaki-sama said you wrapped my wounds very well. Arigatou."

Keigo smiled brightly. "Douashimashite!" He said, then ran up to Hinata and hugged her. Hinata went stiff for a moment but patted his head gently. "Keigo, we have to go see Hokage-sama to ask if you'll be permitted to stay. Alright?" She asked the boy. Then, Hinata turned to Hikari. "Could you take him to talk with Hokage-sama? I need to speak with Uchiha."

Hikari nodded her head, confused somewhat as to why Hinata didn't take him herself, but trusted her mentor's judgment. She, with Keigo's hand securely in her own, soon departed from Sasuke's home.

After she left, Hinata walked into the house, Sasuke following.

When they arrived in the main hall, Hinata stopped. "I am going to take a mission. Because I am guarding you, you must come with me. I will get Uzumaki-sama to give me one. A mission where I can kill someone." She turned on Sasuke, fury plain in her features. "Just be glad I am a loyal ninja or I might just kill you now." She spat at him.

"I am going to accept the mission as soon as Keigo and Hikari get back." She narrowed her eyes. "And you better not get in the way."

**With Hikari and Keigo**

"Naruto-kun?" Hikari asked as she knocked on the door, not getting the immediate 'enter' like she usually did. Getting no reply, she activated her Byakugan and looked inside the room worriedly. The sight that met her eyes was shocking to say the least. Naruto was sitting at his desk with silent tears running down his face. He knew Hikari was at the door and that she probably already saw his tears, but he wiped them away quickly, tried to steady his voice, and answered, "Come in."

She quickly entered with Keigo, closing the door almost silently behind her. Hikari decided not to press for details as to why he had been crying and continued on to her reason for coming. "Snake-sama said that, when she discovered the village that Kisame and Hidan destroyed, she found only one survivor." Hikari gestured to the boy hiding behind her.

Keigo tried to stay unnoticed, but when Hikari moved out of the way, he was finally seen by Naruto. "Konnichiwa." Keigo said to him shyly.

"What is you name?"

"Takeshi Keigo."

"Snake-chan, did Snake-sama say what she wanted?" Naruto asked, curious as to why she didn't bring Keigo with her earlier.

"I believe she wants him to stay with us for a while."

"I see." The Hokage sat at his desk, hands folded over his mouth. It was a habit he picked up from Tsunade before she retired, a habit he used when he was contemplating.

Finally, he opened his mouth to speak. "Keigo can stay with you, Sasuke, and Snake-sama. But only for now. I will make a final decision later."

Keigo smiled brightly. "Arigatou gozamizu!"

"Come on, Keigo, we need to get home, okay?" Hikari said, gently pulling on his elbow to get him moving.

"By the way, I'm Naruto, the Rokudaime of Konoha." He said as the two children walked out the door.

"Sayonara, Rokudaime-sama." Keigo said back.

**(A/N: I think this story is going to end within the next four or five chapters. I honestly have no idea. I appreciate everyone who has voted! It really helped me through my writers block! Since I couldn't decide how it should end, I had no idea how to start typing the next chapter, but now I have figured it out and started typing it a few minutes after I finished typing this, only to remember that I have to actually post this chapter for you guys to be able to read it…. -.-' Anywayz, I'll try to post chapter 11 by Wednesday.)**


	11. Entering Oto

**(A/N: Hi! I'm going to be finishing up this story soon. There are probably only going to be three more chapters after this. Plus the alternate ending with its epilogue…That makes five chapters, doesn't it? Man, I'm feeling really absentminded this week… -.-')**

Chapter 11: Entering Oto!

Hinata and Sasuke waited at his home for Hikari and Keigo to come back. The two arrived shortly after her and Sasuke's argument.

"Snake-sama, Naruto-kun said Keigo could stay for a while." Hikari said, reporting to her shishou immediately.

She laughed a short, humorless laugh. "No doubt he's trying to make it up to me." She muttered to herself. Both Hikari and Sasuke caught this, but only the man understood. "Can you take him inside and show him to one of the empty rooms near ours? I have a mission that I will be going on. Sasuke is going with me. You are to stay here and take care of Keigo, okay, Snake-chan?"

"Hai. Where are you going?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'm on my way to Uzumaki-sama to find out the details."

"Why Sakura-sama?"

"Because she's the one who's giving me the mission. Sasuke and I should be back within the four months at the most. I'll leave you enough money for that long, okay? Make sure you take care of Keigo and yourself and I'll try to be back as soon as I can."

"Hai." Hikari hugged Hinata before she could turn and leave. "Be careful." She said quietly, watching Keigo hug her also.

Hinata and Sasuke headed for the hospital.

When they arrived, they found Sakura sitting at the front desk, rifling through patients' forms, apparently trying to organize the many records. Hinata made a small coughing sound when the woman didn't look up from her work after they entered.

"Uzumaki-sama, I would like to request a mission. Preferably one B-rank or higher, but anything would be fine." Hinata said as soon as the pinkette looked up.

"Are you and Naruto fighting again? Okay, I'll be right back. I have to talk to him first." Sakura disappeared from their sight, off to the Hokage Tower.

"Does this happen often?" Sasuke asked, noting how Sakura guessed what happened right away.

"No. Demo Hokage-sama and I have fought so many times I have lost count, though. Never as badly as we are now, but we have had some serious disputes."

Sakura reappeared, grimacing. "I have a mission for you. You will be infiltrating Otogakure, posing as Sasuke's wife." Sakura winced, but pressed onward. "You will be gathering information and trying to get close to the Otokage. Close enough to kill him."

Sakura paused, feeling the waves of anger flowing off of Hinata.

"This is a very important and dangerous mission, Snake-sama. You have to work together on this. If you are discovered, you both will certainly be killed. I know the both of you are powerful, but the odds are too much. It would be the two of you against a whole shinobi village."

"I get what and why she has to go, but I don't see why she has to pose as **my **wife. Couldn't she go with someone else?" Sasuke asked.

"Iie. She is your ANBU guard for the next year and a half you have to go with her, and it would look odd to see her with two men beside her."

"I see." Hinata said, then muttered, "I bet Hokage-sama planned this." She accepted the scroll that Sakura held out and opened it. It was a marriage document.

The air was suffocating Sasuke now. Apparently Sakura thought so too, for she began to speak. "That's not a real contract. But it's close enough to the real thing that if anyone asks and you show it to them, they will believe you truly are married. It's up to you to come up with a cover story. By the way, your mission will last three months, and Naruto expects you back a week later than that. You leave as soon as you pack."

Hinata sighed, then turned, dragging Sasuke out of the hospital behind her. "Come on, Uchiha. We need to go back to your house so we can pack our bags and be on our way." She stated.

When they arrived, Hinata went straight to her room, while Sasuke took his time to get upstairs to gather his belongings.

Coming back down the stairs after packing, he found Hinata staring out the back door. He walked over to her and stood behind her as she watched Keigo and Hikari play. "They get along well." He pointed out.

"Aa. That they do." She replied.

They stood like that for a few minutes. Any passersby that didn't know the two adults would think that they were a happy, loving family. Sasuke, the father, the Snake ANBU being the mother, and the kids in the yard their children. But to those who did know the four would know that that was most certainly not the case.

Hinata, upon realizing their position, stepped out into the yard to call a good bye to the children. "We'll be gone for three months. Make sure to stay safe. Snake-chan, do not take any missions until we get back unless you find someone you can trust to take care of Keigo, clear?"

"Hai, Snake-sama!"

"Sayonara, you two." Hinata turned and walked toward the front door. There, she laid her mask on a table beside her, without Sasuke's notice.

"Ja." Sasuke turned to follow her.

The two made their way to the gates with little talk. As they walked through, Hinata began to speak. "You will need to keep your Sharingan off during the next three months. It is a tell-tale sign that you are from Konoha. You have changed so much in the past ten years that I doubt anyone will recognize you. Your eyes are a trait that will immediately let the Oto nins, because only Uchihas have such dark eyes. Just to be safe, drink this. I already have." She said, pulling a vial out of her pack.

"What is that?"

"It's a potion Hokage-sama gave me. It changes the color of your eyes. He said I could use it if I ever wanted to take my ANBU mask off. The more of it you drink, the longer your eyes change color." She held the bottle out, watching as Sasuke warily took it.

"How much do I take?" He asked.

"That all depends, how long do you want your eyes changed?" She said, stopping and putting her pack on the ground. She rummaged through it while Sasuke replied.

"I suppose that we should be careful, ne? I'll go for four months."

"Okay, pour four ounces in this." She held out a cup with measurements marked out on it.

He poured the necessary amount into the cup and drank it. Then he started coughing. "That tastes foul! Why didn't you warn me?"

"Because you didn't ask." She took the cup back. "Stay right here for a moment." She walked into the woods a short ways and came back a few moments later, carrying a cleaned cup. She reached and took the bottle from Sasuke's hand turning and putting in back in her pack.

"What color are my eyes?" Sasuke asked, curious.

"Grey-ish. Mine are green." They fell silent as they walked.

They stopped shortly before night-fall and set up camp. Hinata pulled food from her pack and began to cook. As they ate, they conversed. "Don't we need to practice what we're going to do when we get to Oto?" Sasuke asked, curious as to how she would react.

"Why, only if you really need to, Sasuke-kun." Hinata said with a warm voice, batting her eyelashes slightly.

"You're pretty good,_ sweetie._" He countered. They both started laughing. Hinata was a convincing actor. If he hadn't known her before their mission, he would have believed that she seriously was in love with him.

Abruptly Hinata stopped laughing. "I don't need practice, Uchiha. I have been doing this for years."

Sasuke shook his head. This woman was weird. One moment, she's laughing and joking, the next she's serious and cut off. Suddenly, Hinata stood up. "I'm going to go sit watch. Go on and sleep."

He did as she said, knowing that arguing with a wall would get him further than arguing with her.

They woke early the next morning, and made their way north once more. By noon, they had reached Otogakure. At the gates, they were stopped by the shinobi guards. "What business do you have here?"

"We are desperate for a place to stay, onegai. My husband and I eloped and we need a place to stay until we can earn enough money to travel the world like we want to. May we please stay here for a while?" Hinata begged, beginning her act by telling the story they had planned out on their way to Otogakure.

The guard glared at her. She and Sasuke stood silently, with pleading faces, staring into the face of their next mission.

**(A/N: Hahahah! I'm so evil! Cliff Hanger, hanging from a cliff! That's why he's called Cliff Hanger! I'm kinda hyper right now, so, yeah, I don't own Between the Lions by the way. I'm sorry, but I couldn't continue the chapter or I would have a late update. I'll try to update again on Saturday. On a side note, I've really been annoying myself lately. Call me crazy if you want, but I can't stay on one subject for long at all. Like, I'd be typing, and all of a sudden, I'll remember something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything, and I'll get on the internet and start looking for it. And then I'll get sidetracked by fanfictions. And then I'll forget to go back to typing! Therefore, I annoy myself. All you people out there who think I'm crazy, I must agree fully. XD Haha.)**


	12. Enter: Yakushi!

**(A/N: First of all, I would like to thank one of my best friends for helping with this chapter. An extra special thanks to Dancergirl! And to all of you people who have reviewed, I thank you also! Especially those of you who have followed since the beginning! It's your support that keeps me writing…er…typing! Also, I'm really, really sorry for the late update, especially because I left you guys at a cliff hanger! I have been working on another story I'm hoping to post soon, and I completely forgot to type this, so I have been working for the past couple hours to finish it so that it would only be one day late. Again, I'm sorry!)**

Chapter 12: Enter: Yakushi!

_The guard glared at Hinata. She and Sasuke stood silently, with pleading faces, staring into the face of their next mission._

Finally, the man turned his back on them, albeit warily. "Follow me. We have to discuss this with our Otokage." He led them through Otogakure guardedly watching them the whole time.

Soon, they came upon a mansion. "This is the Otokage's mansion." He explained needlessly. Almost hesitantly, he walked up to the door and knocked.

A maid came to answer. "Hello, how can I be of service?" She asked quietly, most definitely not the happiest maid in the world. Though any of Kabuto's followers would be afraid.

"I have brought two guests who request an audience with the Otokage." The guard spoke up.

The maid looked over at the two people who were brave enough to request an audience with Otokage himself. Her eyes widened. "Follow me to the conference room. I will summon Otokage-sama as soon as I can, and when he finds time, he will be down to meet you."

She turned and led them to a medium sized room a short ways down the hallway that they entered as soon as they stepped into the mansion. The guard left them after the maid had led them inside, having no intention of seeing the frightening Otokage today.

The two Konoha nins entered the room that the maid led them to. It was painted a surprisingly dark green, almost like a forest. The furniture was all black. There was a long table, many chairs placed around it with a larger seat at the head, a couple of cabinets around the back of the room, and a huge window behind the bigger seat.

"Just go on ahead and sit in one of the chairs while you wait. I will tell you when the Otokage is on his way." The maid said as she left the room.

Sasuke pulled out one of the chairs for Hinata. They had to act like a couple from now on because anyone could be watching them at anytime. "Here you go, Mitsuki-koi." Sasuke said, using the name for her that they had decided the night before.

"Thank you so much, Keijiro koibito." Hinata replied, also using his code name.

He smiled at her and she smiled back. They were like two completely different people on this mission. And they knew it would have to stay that way for the next three months, though neither of them liked it. As they sat, they began to talk like a normal couple would.

When the maid walked in a few minutes later to announce that the Otokage was on his way, they looked up from talking about what their new life would be like in Otogakure.

The Otokage stepped in a few moments later, and Hinata had to stifle a gasp. It was Kabuto!

"Greetings." He said.

"Konbanwa." Sasuke replied. He and Hinata stood and bowed.

Kabuto waved his hand, dismissing the gesture. "Sit back down." He watched as they took their seats again. "Now, Motoaki tells me that you two have eloped from Kumogakure, is this true?"

"Hai, Otokage-sama. I beg of you, let us stay here until we can gather enough money to become travelers and traverse the countries like we have always dreamed, onegai!" Hinata pleaded.

"I must discuss this with the council, but until I do, you will be escorted to a room in my mansion with a guard at the door and outside so that you cannot leave to do anything that could endanger me or my people." He said, only adding the part about his people because he believed that if he came across as a horrible person, they would leave.

"Arigatou gozamizu, Otokage-sama!" Sasuke said, sounding relieved.

"If you will follow me, I'll show you to your room." The maid, Motoaki, said. "But don't try anything funny, because I am a ninja, and I can kill you. Anyone in the mansion can."

"There's nothing to worry about. We would never betray someone whom we hope will permit us to stay in his village." Hinata misled them by saying.

"Aa. Right this way." The maid led them up a set of stairs, down a hallway with many twists and turns, and finally to a door that was closed. "This is one of the guest rooms. I think you should find everything you will need in there. There is a door connecting your room to a bathroom and there should be plenty of time for you two to unpack your things."

She stood there, waiting for them to enter. When they had, she turned and left.

Hinata activated her Byakugan carefully, using just the right amount of chakra, no more than necessary.

"Is there anyone watching?" Sasuke asked.

"Iie. We are safe. There is no one anywhere near us yet. Though there is a guard on his way. He will take a while to get here though. There are also no hearing devices in here. No one should be able to hear a word we say until the guard gets here."

"Good. What are we going to do if he doesn't let us stay here?"

"Then we are going to do whatever it takes to kill him. We will stay just outside of the village, watching for a chance to kill Yakushi."

"What if we can't? Then what are you going to do?"

"Send a message to Hokage-sama so that he knows that we will be taking a bit longer in our mission. We won't leave until we have rid Otogakure of Yakushi. If need be, we will kill off all the ninja in the village one by one until he is the only one left."

"And if he does accept?"

"Oh! Keijiro-koi, we should unpack our things." Hinata giggled lightly, looking at Sasuke after deactivating her Byakugan.

_Of course, the guard would have to arrive right now. Figures._ "Okay, hanii, would you like me to help you?"

"Iie. I'm fine, arigatou Keijiro-koi."

The two unpacked their packs, taking care to act as if their previous conversation had never existed, though Sasuke was curious as to how Hinata would have answered.

Hours after they had arrived, the guard spoke. "They have done nothing to show that they will be disloyal to our village, Otokage-sama."

"Good. Then relay to them that I have decided to let them stay. Make sure you say that you say the council decided to let them. I would hate for them to think this a bad village, now wouldn't you?" Kabuto said in a menacingly quiet voice.

"H-hai Otokage-sama!"

"Good." Kabuto turned to leave. "By the way, let them know that they will be staying here in my mansion and that they will no longer have a guard. It's not like they can hurt me or anything. The only possible thing that could hurt me now would be that Snake ANBU whom no one knows the identity of from the Leaf Village and Sasuke, who has been missing for ten and a half years. And neither of them is anywhere near here." He mumbled to himself. Then he cackled as he walked away. "By the way, tell them it's dinner time, also." He called over his shoulder.

The guard opened the door, trying his best not to look shaken. "Otokage-sama says you can stay, but you'll be staying in this room, without a guard. He also says it's time to eat. Make sure to dress your best, definitely not in those rags." He said, gesturing to the ragged clothes they were wearing. They had dressed that way purposely, so as to make the Oto ninjas believe that they really had eloped, and traveled the long distance from Kumogakure. They didn't pack lightly so that the Oto nins would think they had planned to elope to make it even more believable.

The two nodded and turned to their separate dressers to gather their clothes for dinner. Hinata walked to the bathroom, while Sasuke stayed in the bedroom. They changed and went down for a dinner, prepared especially for the new 'loyal' villagers and the Otokage himself.

**(A/N: Once again, I really apologize for the late update, but I worked all day so I could update. I would also like to thank my cousin, Orange15, for helping with SL so far, and would also like to thank another friend, AyuUchiha, who has read and beta-ed for a lot of these chapters. I appreciate you both for your help. Next chapter is going to be interesting. I'll give you a two word hint at what happens: Hinata's Diary. By the way, I have a poll posted on my profile page if you guys want to vote. After SL closes, I'm going to start typing new stories (hopefully oneshots) using the pairings you all vote for. If anyone will ever vote. The poll has been up since the last one closed and no one has voted yet…)**


	13. Life in Oto

**(A/N: ….I just realized something, like, just this second…I forgot to put disclaimers on the last two chapters of this story that I have posted….oops. Sorry Kishimoto-sensei! I don't own Naruto by the way. If I did, would I have referred to myself as my sensei? I'm sorry, but there was a change of plans. The hinted at chapter will not happen until the chapter after this one. Again, I'm sorry.)**

Chapter 13: Life in Oto

The two Konoha ninjas quickly made their way down to the dining room, with the directions of Motoaki, whom they met in the hall after getting lost.

As they entered the room, they found the Otokage already seated, seeming bored, but his look brightened considerably when Sasuke and Hinata walked in. "Ah. I see you got lost, Mitsuki-chan and Keijiro-kun."

Sasuke smiled sheepishly. "Hai, Otokage-sama. Motoaki-san gave us the directions to get here. This mansion is so huge it is easy to get turned around."

Kabuto laughed a dark, guttural laugh. "I'm so glad you found your way. I must thank Motoaki later on."

Sasuke and Hinata sat down on two of the tatami mats placed around the dining table. A servant walked in moments later with a serving platter. On it were two bowls of ramen, which were placed in front of them, and a disgusting looking concoction which was placed at Kabuto's seat.

"Please help yourself and enjoy. My servants can always bring more for you two. You are our guests after all." Kabuto said with false welcomingness.

They began to eat. Dinner was a slow, quiet process, as it would be for many nights to come.

When the two had finished, Sasuke and Hinata stood, bowed, and asked to be excused. "Of course, of course." Kabuto said. "I wouldn't want to keep you. I'm sure you must be tired after your long walk from Kumo. I have duties to perform tomorrow, but I will try to find someone who can show you around the village, if you like."

Sasuke glanced at Hinata, unsure whether they should or not. "Arigatou, Otokage-sama. Keijiro-koi and I would love that!" She said excitedly. Kabuto nodded his head as the two bowed, then walked out.

Once they got to their rooms, Sasuke questioned her. "Why did you accept his offer?! I thought we were trying to get close to him." He hissed under his breath at her.

"We are. We must seem like we are interested in the workings of the village and want to get to know our new home, else it will be easier to see through our disguise." She said, regaining her emotionless stature, seeing that no one was around after glancing with her Byakugan.

Sasuke was stunned at her quick logic. Then a thought occurred to him. "Who's sleeping on the bed?"

Hinata glanced up sharply, seeing that, indeed, there was only a single bed in the room. She sighed. It would be a long night. "You realize what being newlyweds means right? We are going to have to share the bed, whether we like it or not. This is all Hokage-sama's fault. When we get back to the village, I just might turn traitorous and kill the man." She growled. Sasuke was unsure, but he assumed that she was joking.

Sasuke sighed also. So much for a good night's sleep. Silently, the two slipped into the bed, as far from each other as they could safely get without it arousing suspicion should someone walk into the room.

The following morning, Sasuke awoke first, feeling something warm lying beside him. Groggily, he glanced down. The only thing visible was raven coloured hair. Raising his head slightly, he found Hinata's body curled up next to him with no space in between them.

Hinata woke instantly when Sasuke jumped backward, flinging her off of him and falling to the floor. She got into her fighting position when she heard the thump. Cautiously, she crept over to the lump of covers that was now on the floor.

Slowly, she pulled the covers away from the floor to find a mass of tangled raven hair below them. "Sasuke? What are you doing down there?" She whispered, cautious, but still uncaring.

"I fell off the bed." He mumbled, thankful that he had been the first to wake up. _Who knows what she would have done if she had been the first to wake. _Sasuke shivered. _I'm fairly certain that I don't want to know._

"Cold?" She asked.

"Hai." He replied, glad she was mistaken.

"Keijiro-koi, do you know when breakfast is?"

"I-" Sasuke broke off, hearing a knock at the door. He walked over to it and gently turned the knob, pulling it backward, but only slightly, just enough to see out the door.

He opened it wider when he saw that it was the maid, Motoaki, who was standing there, smiling up at him. "I was just passing by when I heard your wife ask about breakfast. It'll be ready in a few minutes. If you would like to head on down to the dining hall, I will make sure that the servants bring it out for you. I'm afraid that Otokage-sama has already left for his meeting, so he can't dine with you this morning." She bowed and glanced in the room. Seeing the covers thrown in the floor in a rumpled heap, she blushed and scurried away, saying a quick goodbye.

Sasuke looked into the room and blushed deeply, seeing what had made Motoaki flush. The room was a mess. It was morning. They were supposedly a newlywed couple. It didn't take much for Motoaki to come to jump to a completely wrong conclusion. **(A/N: I'll let you make your own assumptions XD)** "Ah…we should probably straighten out the room, Mitsuki-hime." He said, still sporting his dark red blush.

The two of them straightened up the room, then turned to walk out the door toward the smell of food.

They arrived in the room where they had eaten dinner the night before, meeting no one, finding nothing but two plates with sushi on them. "I suppose this is breakfast." Sasuke commented. Hinata nodded.

Pretending to be civilians, they jumped when Motoaki appeared behind them. "This is your breakfast. After you two eat, I will escort you to your tour guide." She smiled brightly, something that she never did when Kabuto was around, they later found out.

"Arigatou, Motoaki-chan. Let's eat, Keijiro-koi." Hinata said, kneeling at the table and picking up a pair of chopsticks.

Motoaki walked out of the room as Sasuke sat down beside her. "Is this poisoned?" He whispered without moving his lips.

"Iie. I already looked." Hinata replied in the same fashion. "Itadakimasu!" She exclaimed, bringing the food to her mouth in a prim fashion.

Sasuke did the same. There was little discussion over breakfast. The two scarfed down their food, finishing shortly.

When they finished, Motoaki walked into the room, motioning for them to follow her to the front door of the mansion. Upon arriving, they met up with their guide, and Hinata almost gasped with surprise.

"Ohayo, I'll be your guide around the village today. My name is Suigetsu." He said in a monotone with his head bowed. Both Sasuke and Hinata knew he was not happy about being a tour guide, nor could he be happy to be back under the control of the sound. _I thought Suigetsu escaped when I let him out… Maybe Kabuto caught up to him and dragged him back? _Sasuke thought.

"Konnichiwa! My name is Mitsuki, and this is my husband, Keijiro! It's such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for the tour! We really appreciate it, Suigetsu-san!" Hinata cried out happily.

Suigetsu looked up for a moment, catching Hinata's eye. His, in turn widened in recognition. She narrowed her eyes, and Suigetsu kept quiet. "Right this way." He said turning away from the two Konoha nins. He led them down a street that was surprisingly void of all life. The further they got from the Otokage's mansion, the more life appeared in the streets. Near the edge of the village, Suigetsu turned to them. "What are you doing here, Snake-sama? And without your mask too! I didn't know you were married. Who is he?" Suigetsu bombarded her with questions, while leaving Sasuke completely confused.

"I am on a mission for Konoha. I am not married. This is Uchiha Sasuke." She explained to Suigetsu. Though Sasuke was completely confused, he did not speak.

"I thought Sasuke-san had onyx colored eyes and both of you were much more..." He trailed off. "How should I put it, stoic? And I thought your eyes were white?" Suigetsu questioned.

"It's a potion that changes the color of one's eyes as a disguise without using chakra, and we're on a mission, so we can't act like ourselves. But listen, we can't talk about this. Not out here where anyone can listen in. You cannot give our identities away."

"Don't worry, Snake-sama, I would never think of doing that. I still owe you my life, no?" He said gratefully. "Come on, I'll give you that tour now."

He took them through the lively part of town, telling them about the different food stands, and introducing them to some of the ninja. He told them later on that they would never help them with killing the Otokage, for if they failed, then there would be a high price for them to pay.

Soon, the day came to a close, and the two Konoha nins and Suigetsu had to make their way to their separate apartments. "I'll drop by once and a while to help with plans and report Kabuto's activities to you." Suigetsu said as a parting statement, disappearing when he was sure they had been let inside by Motoaki.

The aforementioned maid led them to the dinner hall where they ate an almost silent dinner by themselves. After dinner, Sasuke and Hinata made their way back to their rooms.

"Why did you tell Suigetsu about our mission, how does he know who you are, why has he seen you without your mask, and how does he know that you are Snake?" Sasuke asked immediately after they had entered the room and Hinata had checked to make sure there was no one even in the remote area.

Hinata went to her chest of drawers and pulled out a pair of pajamas. Then, she walked back over to the bed and sat down, taking a deep breath. "I helped keep him alive when he was on trial to be killed when Otogakure captured him after you left so long as he agreed to assist me if I ever came back here and he would feed information about Oto to Konoha twelve times every year. I told him that I was Snake, not my real name, when I rescued him. I rescued him back when I wasn't used to wearing my mask all the time, so I forgot I needed to wear it and I took it off in front of him. He still doesn't know my real name. But Kabuto only knows that Snake can kill him because that was the way I convinced him to let my friend here live." She said, glancing out the window.

"So you had the opportunity to kill Kabuto and didn't!" Sasuke almost shouted, but with a glare from Hinata, he quieted down.

"That was part of the bargain. Suigetsu's life for his. Besides, I couldn't take on a whole village and get away with my life back then. I can't now either. I'd prefer not to die by picking a fight I know I can't win."

"So why did you rescue Suigetsu?" Sasuke asked.

"I knew an inside source would be a very helpful thing to have. Godaime Hokage-sama said she wanted me to find a way to be accepted in the sound as a ninja and leak information to them. I rescued Suigetsu so that I wouldn't have to stay. I barely got out of here alive after that incident." Hinata laughed an actual laugh, the first in a long while.

"I meet him at the border once a month and he gives me all the news of Oto. All major events that happen, everything. Actually, we're not accomplices anymore. More siblings than anything. He is going to be the only Oto ninja that will be left alive in the entire village if we can help it." After explaining, she walked into the bathroom to change and did not come out until Sasuke made it clear he was dressed.

She walked back into the room and sat on the bed, murmuring to herself. Sasuke thought he heard her say that the past night had been the best she'd slept in a very long while and recalled the mishap that morning. As Hinata lay back in bed, she glanced toward Sasuke curiously, for he was just standing to the side of his side of the bed with a slight blush on his face. "What are you doing?" She asked him.

Sasuke shook his head, as if to clear it, and slipped silently into bed also. "Nothing." He muttered.

He slept well that night, and also every night for the next three months.

Soon, near the middle of their third month there, he found that people were making preparations for a festival. The Winter Festival to be exact, celebrating the coming Christmas. "Keijiro-koi, are we going to go to the festival? It sounds like such fun!" Hinata said, with a deceptively excited voice.

"Sure, Mitsuki-hime." Sasuke replied in the same tone as they walked down the hall of the Otokage's mansion on the way back to their room after planning with Suigetsu on how to best kill Kabuto without attracting too much attention. How he hated having to act like a happily married couple, talking about things like a normal civilian would. They were about as far as one could get from civilians.

Once they reached their rooms, the two changed and glided into bed. Soon, the Hinata was asleep. Sasuke was the last to slip into unconsciousness, though he thought he heard Hinata mutter that she had been sleeping well, actually lying down for so long, therefore getting to sleep deeper. But that could have been his imagination. Soon, he too, drifted into unconsciousness.

_Blood. It was everywhere. On the ground, in her hair, in a puddle at her feet. One was standing, one kneeling, and one was lying in it on the ground. Though raining, nothing could mask the tears cascading down her face. "Iie." The girl kneeling on the ground whispered, hands glowing with a light blue chakra. "This can't be happening. It was supposed to be perfect. We were supposed to be happy!" She wailed. Pushing herself harder, she pulled out more of her chakra and concentrated it into her hands. "Why!" She shouted, "Why is this happening?!" _

_The man standing by her shook his head, watching as the girl fell apart in front of him. _

_The man on the ground reached up and took the woman's cheek into the palm of his hand. She grasped it tightly between her own. "Why, watashi wa Koibito? Why did you do this?" She asked him._

"_I…did this…for you, watashi no… hime." With his quickly failing strength, he reached up to her and kissed her softly on the lips. With his dying breath, he spoke soothing words. "Ashiteru, hime. Be strong… for me. Become… the best… shinobi you… can possibly… be." With that, his life faded away._

_Slowly, she let her chakra fade. "I killed him." She whispered. "It's my fault he's dead. I could have saved him. I didn't try hard enough." The woman screamed, falling down over her lover's body and crying until she could shed no more tears._

_The other man, the one who was standing, knelt down beside her, patting her shoulder, whispering comforting words that were heard by deaf ears all throughout._

"IIE!" Sasuke heard Hinata shout as she flew up. He did so too, thinking they had been found out and there were other Oto ninja in the room. He pulled a kunai out from inside his pillow case and got into a fighting stance. He took a glance around the room, and, upon finding no one, he flopped back into bed. "What did you shout for, Hinata-sama?"

He picked up a small, almost silent sound from her side of the bed. Slowly, he turned over toward her and found that she was curled into a ball hugging her knees with her face buried in them. "Are you crying?" He asked gently, sitting up.

He heard her sniffle, and took that as a yes. Cautiously, he reached out an arm and tentatively wrapped it around her, surprised when she flung herself into him. Unsure of what to do, he patted her shoulder lightly, awkwardly, and just let her cry on his shoulder.

When she had calmed down, he spoke. "Are you okay, Hinata? What happened?" He picked his words carefully.

"It's been so long since then. I can't believe he's back." She whispered, the end of her sentence almost lost due to her voice that was getting quieter.

"Who? What was your dream about?" He was met with silence when he asked this question. Looking down at the woman in his arms, he found that she had fallen asleep.

Being unable to move her without waking her, he just laid back and fell asleep, Hinata still cuddled up to him with his arms wrapped almost protectively around her.

The next morning, Sasuke awoke to find that Hinata, whose warmth he had gotten used to waking up to, was gone. Almost, _almost_ frantically, he searched the room to find some clue as to where she had gone.

He spotted a small white piece of paper that had not been there the previous night. Quickly, he got up and walked over to it. Sasuke picked it up and took in the words:

_Keijiro-koi,  
Thank you so much for your kindness last night. I really appreciate it. I woke up early this morning and found that we were in the exact same position we fell asleep in last night. I'll be back in time for lunch, don't worry, sweetie. I promise I'll be careful. Suigetsu's promised he will make sure nothing happens. Be back soon, maybe even before you wake. _

_Mitsuki_

"Are? Wonder where she had to go." Sasuke pondered.

**With Hinata**

"Suigetsu-nii?" She whispered, sitting on the grass in front of the large oak where she had told him to meet her.

"What is it, Snake-sama?" He asked, walking out from behind it. He found her sitting with her arms wrapped around her knee caps and her head resting on her hands. "What's wrong?"

"Do you remember those times back when I was still new at being Snake?"

"Hai. Why bring this up now though?"

"I think you should know who I am, Suigetsu-nii. My name is Hinata."

"The heiress who was killed by Itachi?"

"The one and only."

"But if he killed you, then how are you here?"

"It was a scheme. I planned it all. I never really met up with Itachi. Do you remember the dreams I would have, back when you first started spying for me? When I would run away from home and come here, crying. You would always find me and comfort me. They really happened."

"Aa, Snake-sama."

"Don't call me that anymore, onegai."

"Okay Hinata-nee."

"Did I ever tell you who the three people in my nightmare were?"

"Iie. I don't see where you're going with this."

"The men. The one who always stood is Hoshigake Kisame. The one on the ground, dying, is Uchiha Itachi."

"Who is the woman?" Suigetsu asked, curious to learn more about his rescuer.

"The woman?" Hinata sniffled, then smiled a joyless smile. "She would be Hyuuga Hinata."

Suigetsu knelt down beside her and petted her shoulder. "Is that why you were always so distraught after those dreams? You loved him didn't you?" He asked.

She nodded. "I miss him."

Suigetsu continued to console her, unknowing that Sasuke, who had come to the tree only minutes after him, had heard everything they spoke of and the emotion she showed to the Oto nin.

**(A/N: I am sooooo sorry for my late update!!! I have been so busy lately that I've barely even had time to get on the computer at all! Today is my birthday!!! I am happy! ...October 3! Yay! Anyway…I'm sorry again for the late update. I'll try to update as soon as I can.)**


	14. The Diary

**(A/N: **_**Italics**__**are what Sasuke is reading.**_** Regular is…well…regular. By the way, I just made up all the dates out of thin air except the first one. I'm not sure if any of the real events from the story line actually happened on that day I said they did. This chapter is eight pages long and has exactly 5, 053 words!!! A new record!! Also, I'm very tired. I got less than six hours of sleep last night. I woke up at six thirty. And I've been up since then. And I'll probably be up for at least another hour. Caution: Spoiler warning.)**

Chapter 14: The Diary

Sasuke stood, frozen. "So the ice cube feels. Are. So, last night, before she had woken up, she had been dreaming of Itachi. It must have been horrible for her to have been crying. I wonder what the dream was about..." Sasuke whispered, though no one could hear him.

He turned, deciding to walk back to their apartment. On the way back, he pondered what he had heard.

Upon arriving, he unlocked the door and stepped in, immediately spotting something out of place. Bending down, he picked it up.

It was a small book. There were words on the back once, but now were scribbled out. Turning it over to the front, he saw more words, this time legible. Reading carefully, Sasuke realized that the words read: 'Snake's Diary. Keep out from threat of death.'

Glancing around and listening carefully, he made sure there was no one near. He knew that he shouldn't, but he was so curious that he sat down on the bed and opened the book to the first page.

_December 27_

_Okaa-sama gave me this diary for my fifth birthday. She said that I should write things down in it. I'm not really sure what to write though. Okaa-sama says I should write my feelings because she thinks I keep them bottled up inside. She thinks that I'm just too shy and gave me this diary because she thinks that it'll help me express myself. I made her promise not to read it though. She agreed. Ah! She just said it's time for dinner, bye!_

_April 5_

_I'm sorry I haven't written in so long. I was really busy. Okaa-sama and I have been having lots of fun. But Otou-san invited the Uchiha family over on the third. He made me go play with them. Otou-san told me their names were Itachi and Sasuke. Sasuke-san was really mean to me. He pulled my hair really hard by accident and called me a baby when I cried. His big brother Itachi-kun hugged me to make me stop crying. I like him. He's really nice. A lot nicer than that meanie head Sasuke. When Itachi-kun and Sasuke-san left, I lay in my bed and I dreamed about Itachi-kun. I woke up yesterday morning really happy. Aw. I have to go eat dinner now. I'll write more later if I can. Bye._

Sasuke paused in his reading. "Was I really that horrible to her when we were little? No wonder she didn't like me when we were genin. Or now for that matter." He shrugged and looked at the next entry. It had tear splotches on it, as though Hinata had been crying when she wrote it.

_March 28_

_I'm a big sister now. But I don't want to be! I want Okaa-sama to come back! Otou-san was crying today. I've never seen him cry. When my little sister was born, Okaa-sama didn't come out of the room with her. I asked Otou-san where she was and he said she left. He said she had gone away and she couldn't ever come back. I started crying, just like my little sister was, and Otou-san cried too. I really miss Okaa-sama, but Otou-san says she's happier now. That helped make me feel better, but I still really, really miss her._

_February 19_

_I haven't written in forever! It's almost been a whole year! I'm seven now, and even though I'm still really sad about Okaa-sama, I feel a little better. I missed writing in my diary, but I didn't have anything to say after Okaa-sama died. Otou-san said I should start writing again in honor of her. So I decided I would if I had something to write about. Here it is. Sasuke-san was walking home from school today. He was really late and he thought he'd be in trouble. But when he got home, everyone in the entire Uchiha clan had been killed. The worst part was, they had all been killed by Itachi-kun! I felt really bad for Sasuke-san, but I didn't say anything to him when he came running here to tell Otou-san after telling Sandaime-sama. I couldn't say anything. Itachi-kun made me promise not to. See, I met him when he was running away from the village. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was following orders. I was really confused, but he told me that Sandaime-sama had ordered him to kill all the Uchihas. He didn't want to, but the council forced Sandaime-sama to make Itachi-kun kill them. I was really sad when he told me what he had to do. Itachi-kun told me that he couldn't bare to kill Sasuke, his own brother, and made me promise not to tell him what Itachi told me. I told him I wouldn't and he kissed me on the forehead! I smiled at him, even though I was crying. He asked me why I was crying and I told him that it was because he was leaving. He looked shocked, but then he smiled sadly and he told me he would see me again someday. I smiled really big and so did he, but then I heard Neji-nii-san calling me and I turned around to make sure he couldn't see us, but when I turned back to Itachi-kun to tell him to be careful and that I liked him, he was gone! I was sad, but I had to look happy when Neji-nii-san came to get me so that no one would think I met up with Itachi-kun._

Sasuke was stunned. Itachi had just been following orders? That was why he killed their family? So if Itachi hadn't really meant all those things he said to Sasuke, why did he say them? "I'll bet it was so that I wouldn't hate Konoha." He whispered, stunned. Aware that time was passing, he continued on, unsure of when Hinata would come back.

_June 26_

_I realized that I don't really ever write in my diary more than once a year. I also realized that I haven't written in three whole years! …Anyway I'm ten now and it's been a really, really long time since I've written. Otou-san says I'm weak and he told Kurenai-san that he wanted her to teach me how to be a ninja when I get older. That breaks the tradition that all Hyuugas have of being trained only within their family before becoming a genin. Usually, Hyuugas all train at home instead of going to the academy, and then when the genin exams start, they go to the academy and try out. But Otou-san is making me go to the academy. I overheard him telling Kurenai-san about it. I don't think he meant for me to find out yet. Kurenai-san walked out and she found me eavesdropping. I wasn't crying or anything. I was just standing there with no expression on my face. She looked like she almost pitied me, but I smiled at her and started walking back the way I had come from._

_September 2_

_I graduated the academy a few days ago and Father acted like he was proud of me, but when he met with Kurenai-san, he told her that Iruka-sensei made the exam far too easy. He told her that if the exam had been worth anything at all, then I wouldn't have passed. That time, I did cry. He thinks I'm worthless. I've only heard it a million times when he and the elders think I'm not listening. But to hear it being said to a non-Hyuuga! I've learned to live with people in my family telling me I'm not worth anything, just a waste of space, but for them to tell other people hurts. It hurts a lot. Sometimes, I wish Itachi-kun had taken me with him. I've tried to forget how kind he was to me and how much I love him, but it hasn't worked yet. I still think of him everyday. I wonder what he's doing right now. Does he think of me at all? I wish I could talk to him so badly. I wish he could come back. I need someone I can trust. Someone I can talk to. I used to think that I could like someone else. I've tried admiring some of the other guys in class. I finally settled on looking up to Naruto-san. He's really obnoxious, but he's the best one of the class. I definitely don't want to even try to like Sasuke-san. He's still as rude as ever. Just because he has no family, he thinks he has the right to ignore people and glare at them like he wants everyone in the world to disappear! How selfish can one person be? It's like he thinks the rest of us have it easy or something. He doesn't know how lucky he is. He has a brother who cares more for him than he does for his own life and there is not a single person who looks down on him, well out loud anyway. I'm probably the only person who looks down on him though. All the girls in the class fawn over him as though he's a god or something. He's not. He could never be. Sasuke is the most arrogant person I have ever met in my life. He infuriates me. I believe all he wants is people's attention and pity. But I could never say any of this aloud. No one should have to know of the pain I feel inside._

_May 31_

_Darn it! I keep forgetting to write! Oh well. I'm twelve now and we have been placed in our genin teams. Otou-san still thinks I'm worthless. Kurenai-sensei has become like a mother to me. Other than my real mother, she's the only person I've ever felt close to. My two other team mates are really kind. They are patient with me and they help a lot. I think Otou-san did me a favour, sending me to the academy. I don't always have that pressure to be perfect on my shoulders and I feel I can be myself around them. Well, as much of myself as I can be. Their names are Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba. Shino-kun seems really mysterious to everyone. He used to seem like that to me, but now I know he just covers up his eyes and face because his eyes show all of his emotions, and he can't mask them any other way.(also because he has to keep his Kikachu beetles cool) He covers his face because he doesn't like people to stare at him. Kiba-kun is his exact opposite. Where Shino-kun is quiet and shy, Kiba-kun is noisy and very extroverted. I'm more like Shino-kun than Kiba-kun, but Kiba-kun is a lot easier to talk to because when I speak, he focuses only on me. I changed my mind about whom I will pretend to look up to. I pick Kiba. I keep forgetting myself and daydreaming about Itachi, but I don't want anyone to worry about me. Otou-san said I have to start thinking about my future. I know exactly what I want to do when I grow up. Be the best Kunoichi I can be so that when I meet up with Itachi-kun again, he won't see me as a weak and fragile little girl, but as a capable woman._

Sasuke realized that Hinata had been unhappy when she was younger, but he didn't know she had been this unhappy. He felt sorry for her. Almost. He decided to skip around a little bit. He flipped a few more pages until one in particular caught his eye.

_July 28_

_Today I just got back from a solo mission. I don't remember what it was. I can't distinguish between missions anymore. They all run together. Anyway, back to what I was talking about. I met Itachi-koi out there! I was so excited! I almost ran up to him and hugged him. Almost. It was the most feeling I have felt in such a long time. He told me I had grown. He also said I was beautiful and confessed that he had liked me since we had met when Otou-san invited the Uchihas over and he had comforted me when Sasuke-san made me cry. He told me that he had always felt a kind of connection with me he had never felt with anyone before. That explained why he told me about what he had to do to Sasuke-san and why he had to leave the village. It turns out that he had thought of me everyday, just as I had thought of him. He made me his that night, for he had shaken Kisame-san when he had felt my chakra near by and searched me out. He and I promised that we would tell no one of our relationship. Any time we meet in the wood in the future, we promised that, so long as others were around, we would act as though nothing ever happened between us. But if there were no others but us, there would be no acting! It's so hard to have a relationship with a wanted ninja, but I believe that it's totally worth it._

"Wow. She…they…wow. I never imagined the trouble that Hinata would go to for him." Sasuke said, having been told by Naruto how much they cared for each other, but never actually thinking it ran that deep. He continued to read.

_November 30_

_I don't have much time to write today, so I can't write a whole paragraph like I usually do. Guess what! I just found out that I'm pregnant with Itachi-koi's child. I'm only seventeen right now. I won't let anyone to do an analysis, but I know it's his. I have to go tell Neji-nii-san and Otou-san now. I won't tell them who the father is, no matter what they say. I would never betray him like that. I have to go now, though, goodbye._

_January 27_

_I'm twenty one now._ _Today Otou-san disowned me. Actually, let me rephrase that statement. He disowned both me and my three year old child! I don't particularly feel anything but hatred towards him for doing this to my daughter. I'm not sad that he kicked me out, a sure sign that he doesn't care at all for me. I'm not quiet happy that I'm finally rid of him, either. I have no where to go, no one to trust, and no possessions. Rokudaime-sama offered to let me stay at the Hokage Tower. I don't want to intrude or anything, but I think I'm going to have to accept his offer. Maybe if I get him to trust me, he'll give me higher rank missions with a better chance of meeting Itachi-koi. Really, the only time I feel anything much is when I think of him. I think Hokage-sama has been watching me lately. He seems to be scrutinizing me. He probably feels sorry for me. I don't need his pity. I don't need pity from anyone. Oh yes! Sasuke-san left a few years ago. I totally forgot to tell you that. Good riddance, I say. Hokage-sama was kinda depressed for a while, but then Jiraya-sama offered to train him. Hokage-sama decided to leave with him. When he came back, he was a lot more mature. I didn't expect that. But it doesn't matter. Oh! I completely forgot! Hokage-sama is Naruto-kun. He finally made his dream come true when he turned eighteen. Anyway, I have to go tell Hokage-sama that I accept his offer of a house. There's no where else I can turn._

Sasuke skipped around some more, scanning through the pages. Finally, he found an entry that caught his eye.

_October 12_

_Today is Hikari's fifth birthday. I'm twenty-three now, and I'm so worried about our financial status. I'm also worried about her. I haven't taken a mission since she was born, but I have to start taking them again or we will have no money left. I'm worried about how she'll take it. Hikari is so used to me being around her, I mean, I've been with her almost all day everyday. Who am I going to leave her with? Where will she stay? How will I tell her that we are going broke? How will I explain why she's never had a proper birthday party before? I can't leave her with my family, because they would never accept her. I can't leave her at a friend's house, because that would be intruding upon them too much. Besides, what if I die? Then she'll never know who either of her parents were. I'm so scared for her. Sometimes, I'll lie in bed and I'll wonder what will become of us. I worry of what will happen to her if I die._

_August 22_

_I'm twenty-six now, and I have killed Itachi-koi. It was my worst nightmare come true. I shudder just thinking about it. Hokage-sama has been watching me for sometime now. He knows I'm falling apart and he knows he's helpless to stop it. He thinks I've only just begun to break, but he is off by a long shot. My life was chipped when Okaa-sama died. It was chipped again when Itachi-koi left. It broke into small bits when I was cast upon the street with my daughter. It shattered when Itachi-koi was killed by my own two hands. I'm not dying inside. In all actuality, I'm already dead. The only time I feel now is when Hikari is around, though it pains me not to be able to tell her I'm her mother for her own protection. Who knows what the Hyuuga would do if they found out that I was alive and was Snake-sama. Imagine how they would use my daughter… Anyway, the only other time I ever feel is when I think about Itachi-koi, and that only brings pain. I have nightmares about that night many times a week, though I must lay in bed and calm my breathing quickly, for fear of waking Hikari. I need someone I can trust, not someone to pity me like Hokage-sama, or someone to fear me like the rest of the villagers, or even someone to respect me, like Hikari. I could never burden her with such a heavy weight as mine. Maybe some day, when I'm stronger emotionally, I'll be able to write what my nightmares are about. Right now, though, I'm too weak. Just like I was too weak for Itachi-koi._

Sasuke paused in his reading. Upon reading Hinata's diary, he had learned much of her past so far. "What could she have done to kill Itachi? She said she was too weak for him. Wouldn't that contradict itself? Hinata really cared for Hikari. She hid her identity for Hikari's protection. _I wonder what her nightmare was about. I know it had Kisame, Itachi, and herself in it. _Sasuke thought. He found the next entry was subtitled 'nightmare' and he bent over it to begin reading.

After the dream, there were two simple sentences. _Please, find it in your heart to forgive me, Itachi-koi. I didn't try hard enough._

Sasuke continued through the diary. He came upon a few, more recent, entries. The first recent entry was from nine months ago.

_March 7_

_My age is twenty-nine years. Sasuke-san finally returned after all these years. I'm surprised he didn't forget about his 'precious village'. It sickens me that Hokage-sama would let him stay here after such an obvious betrayal. Next thing you know, Deidara-kun is going to want to be allowed back into Iwagakure, and they'll actually allow him back. Then Hokage-sama has the nerve to call me into his office and give an input to whether I think he's trustworthy. I sure don't think he is. But that is based on only an opinion. I cannot tell Hokage-sama that he cannot be trusted, but I cannot tell him that we should trust the Uchiha. All I can state are facts to avoid lying. And then Hokage-sama has the gall to ask me to be Uchiha's guard for the next TWO FREAKING YEARS! That means I have to spend every waking moment (and most sleeping ones too) watching over the baka. I'll bet Hokage-sama is trying to set me up so I'll fall in love. When will he learn that I have not, and will not ever love anyone other than Itachi-koi! Argh! I'm surprised I can even find time to write with the pesky Uchiha around anymore. He's waking up now, I must go._

_October 9_

_Still twenty-nine. Today Hokage-sama spilled my deepest secret. How could he!? How could he risk Hikari's safety and happiness by telling Sasuke who I am!? I thought I could trust Hokage-sama, I mean, he's never given me any reason not to do so. Until now! He has told Uchiha Sasuke who I am and most of what I told him that has happened to me in the past. I have asked Uzumaki-sama for a mission, and she got me one. The problem is not that in itself. The problem is that she got it from Hokage-sama. He is trying to make me fall in love again! He said Sasuke and I have to go to Oto posing as a married couple! Hokage-sama may think he is doing me good, but he's not. He's just making my choices harder. I could never fall in love with that baka! Besides, he's Itachi-koi's brother! To fall in love with his brother would be like betraying Itachi-koi! I'm so angry right now I don't think I can stand to keep an emotionless face. I wish I had my mask back. But I had to take it off, and now everyone can see my face. I had to finally take that potion that Uzumaki-sama gave me. It turned my eyes a bright green. Sasuke took some too. It turned his eyes dull grey. I'm supposed to be on watch, but I decided that I would write in my diary too, because unlike some, I can multi-task. But I have to go now. It's almost dawn and we are going to have to leave camp for Oto's gates soon. I probably won't be writing for a while, at least, unless something major happens._

_December 24_

_Last night, I had the Dream again. It's been two years since I last had it. I woke in the middle of the night and frightened Sasuke-kun into thinking we were being attacked. When he realized there was nothing around us and looked back at me, I saw his face change. He looked confused at first, but then his eyes softened just like Itachi-koi's used to and he sat back down on the bed. He asked me why I screamed, then, upon not getting an answer, he asked whether I was crying or not. I didn't answer, just sniffled, and he got the point. Then Sasuke-kun did the last thing I expected him to do. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. It was almost just like That Night. I was so overwhelmed that I just flung myself at him and cried for the longest time yet, except the night that he died. The thing that surprised me the most, though, was when he actually let me. I fell asleep in his arms, and, though I know he must not have liked it, he fell asleep like that too. I woke up still in his arms this morning. I'm just getting ready to go see Suigetsu-nii. I always tell him when I have another one of the Dreams. Suigetsu is just like a brother to me, but he never calls me anything but Snake-sama. I think today I'll tell him my real name and maybe he'll start calling me Hinata-nee? Anyway, I've got to go find Suigetsu and talk to him before Sasuke-kun wakes up…since when have I called him Sasuke-kun? Oh well, maybe Hokage-sama had a method for his madness. But I feel like I'm betraying Itachi-koi. I feel so confused right now. I need to talk to Suigetsu-nii. _

And that was where the diary ended. Sasuke sat for a few moments, digesting the information he had learned.

Just as he was closing it, Hinata stormed in, veins around her eyes bulging. "What are you doing, Keijiro-koi? You know it's not nice to read a woman's diary, right? I hope you haven't started reading, because now is when you stop. I thought we agreed that was the only thing you weren't allowed to look at that one thing of mine."

"Gomen, Mitsuki-hime. I haven't read any of it, if that helps. I found it on the ground and was unsure of what it was. I was just getting ready to sit down and look for a title."

Hinata visibly relaxed and her posture grew less stiff. "Oh, well, that's okay then, Keijiro-koi. May I please have it back?" The veins of her Byakugan faded.

"Of course." Sasuke said as he handed the small book back to her. "Did you find Suigetsu?"

"Hai."

"Tonight is the Winter Festival. Are you going to accompany me to it, Mitsuki-hime?" He asked her.

"Iie, Sasuke." Hinata whispered. "It's clear."

"So, when are we going to get rid of Kabuto?"

"Tonight. When everyone is at the festival. No one would expect an attack tonight when everyone else is out enjoying themselves and the ninja are all at the party."

"Okay. What time do you think we should leave for the festival?"

"We'll be leaving an hour before our usual dinner time. We will come back an hour after our usual dinner time, when Yakushi, or at least some of his guards, should be tipsy from Sake. We will be swift and silent. I have already told Suigetsu of the plan. Make sure you don't blow it." Hinata said, sounding confident, not at all like she had in her diary entry from earlier that morning. Sasuke guessed it was from years of practice at hiding her feelings. She turned and walked out the door, placing her diary on a table beside her side of the bed before doing so. "Come on, Keijiro-koi! We'll be late for the Winter Festival if we don't hurry!"

"Coming Mitsuki-hime!" He called, hurrying out the door behind, preparing for a long, exhausting night of fighting.

**(A/N: Wow! Really long chapter this time! Yay! I'm kinda hyper tonight. It is about twelve thirty. And SL is officially longer than 30,000 words! Hehe! Anyway, this chapter is extra long because of the really late update last week. The only sad thing I have to announce is that SL will be ending in about three chapters. :'( Wahhh! I don't want it to end! .......Aside from that, assuming that I can type at least a little everyday, I will probably be updating faster. I have everything planned out for how the next three chapters will proceed.......... Next chapter will be the sad ending, but then I'm going to do a happy ending with an epilogue. So if you don't wanna read a sad ending, skip the next chapter. Guess what? You know how I said I'd probably be up for another hour? Well, I fell asleep… Anyway, when I woke up this morning, I totally forgot I hadn't posted this chapter of SL. -.-' I just now realized it. Sumimasen!!! I apologize!)**


	15. Festival of Surprise

**(A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update. I was out of town this weekend at my great-aunt and uncle's house. I brought my laptop with me so I could finish this chapter, but my aunt and uncle don't have internet, so I couldn't upload it. THIS IS NOT THE SAD CHAPTER. By the way, I don't own Naruto…Though it would be amazing if I did!)**

Chapter 15: Festival of Surprise

Sasuke and Hinata walked around the village, admiring the beautiful decorations and laughing as though they were a real couple. Sasuke could see a warmth in Hinata's eyes, one that he didn't know existed. He ignored it though, it was only a fraud, right? "Mitsuki-hime, it's getting late, shouldn't we be getting back now, hanii?"

"Aw, but Keijiro-koi, it's only nine thirty! Can't we stay a little while longer?" Hinata begged.

"Fine, just a little while though. Then we need to get back, alright?"

"Okay!" Hinata smiled a radiant smile, looking truly happy.

She's such a good actor. No one would ever guess that she's unhappy, worried, or in pain the way she acts. Sasuke shook his head, as if to clear it. "Mitsuki-hime, let's go find something to eat."

"Oh! Wait a minute! I totally forgot! I need to go back to the apartment for a moment. You stay here and I'll be right back, okay Koibito?"

Before he could answer, she turned and ran back to their 'home'. He shook his head at her antics and sat down on a bench nearby.

He looked up as Suigetsu approached a few moments later. "Yo. Mitsuki-hime send you here to make sure I stay?"

"Aa. How's the festival? Having fun?"

"Sure. I guess it's okay. Any idea where she went? Or what she's doing?"

"I have no idea. Probably gone to write in her… ah…uh…never mind."

"In her diary. I know. Why would she leave the festival to write in her diary?"

"I have no idea. How did you know what she was writing in?"

"I found the book in our room."

"Oh. "

The two continued to talk for a short while, waiting for Hinata to come back and announce that it was time to begin their attack.

Suddenly, she appeared in front of them, shocking both nin. "Quickly, it is time to begin." She hissed quietly. Stepping forward, she grabbed them by the arms and disappeared, only to reappear in her and Sasuke's bedroom. "Okay, we have to be quick about it so as not to draw everyone's attention. If we hurry, we can take out the guards who are near the Otokage without much hassle. I checked and found that the ones at his door are drunk. They shouldn't be too hard to take out. The guards inside his office are going to be harder to take down. If at all possible, we need to lure them out of the mansion and into the countryside. That way we can try to keep from harming the villagers. Follow me." She spun on her heel, headed out the door and down the corridor, Sasuke and Suigetsu following silently, ever careful.

They ghosted down the halls, flitting in and out of shadows, ever patient. Carefully, they observed the ninja standing in front of the Otokage's office. Three people. Hinata signaled to her companions and they darted forward and each covered the mouth of one Oto guards. Silently, the three scurried out of the mansion, and into the surrounding forest. One of the drunk ninja grabbed onto Hinata's arm and tried to force her to let go, muttering. "Hey, sweetie, what are you doing so far away from the festival, are?" He slurred.

She scrunched her nose, disgusted, and quickly did away with the idiot, slitting his throat. This alerted the other two that their lives were likewise in danger.

"What's going on?" One of the man's companion's asked drunkenly, pulling out a kunai.

Hinata shook her head at their pitiful attempts at being menacing. She nodded to Sasuke and Suigetsu to rid themselves of their captives.

Both did so obligingly, gladly. "What now?" Suigetsu asked.

"We make our way back to the Otokage's mansion and try for a surprise attack on him and his men. Kill anyone in the room with the Otokage. Kabuto is mine though. We have a personal thing that I want to settle." Silently, Hinata left the men behind as she hurried off to finish her mission.

Suigetsu and Sasuke looked after her for a moment before nodding at each other and following.

Once again standing outside the Otokage's office, Hinata activated her Byakugan and glared through the door at Kabuto and his five guards. This would be a hard battle to accomplish, even with Sasuke and Suigetsu by her side.

Upon them arriving beside her, she nodded her head in the direction of the room and Suigetsu ran forward, all according to plan. He knocked on the door and quickly burst in upon Kabuto's quiet "Enter."

"Otokage-sama, the guards you placed outside your door just left. I met them in the hall. Why did they leave?"

"I've got no idea, I didn't order them to leave." He said with quiet fury.

"They were stumbling and hiccupping, so I think they might have been drunk. They could have imagined it. But the point is that they are not here. Should I go find them? They weren't headed toward the village, but out toward the forest."

Kabuto stood and nodded to his men. "Iie. I will go after them. Come if you want."

"Hai, I will come in that case." Suigetsu followed Kabuto and his five men out the door, hoping that Hinata and Sasuke were in position in the forest.

The seven Oto ninja progressed out of the mansion and hurried into the woods.

Upon reaching the place Hinata had designated as their fighting spot, Suigetsu spoke the words that meant 'attack'. "I'm not sure where they went from here. It's almost like they disappeared."

Hinata and Sasuke silently launched themselves out of the bushes and onto the unsuspecting nins. Suigetsu turned to attack the man nearest to him.

Shouts rang out from the clearing. The loudest was Kabuto's. "Suigetsu, you traitor! If you live through this battle, you will never be welcome in Otogakure again!"

Another shout by one of the men was heard by all. "It's Mitsuki and Keijiro! They're the ones attacking us!"

"Iie, you idiot! It's Snake and Sasuke!" Suigetsu roared, striking the man in the chest with a kunai, leaving only a shallow mark instead of the deep gash he was aiming for.

Kabuto's eyes widened. "You! How dare you show your face back here after what you did before!"

"Easily. All I needed was some inside help to let me know all the information I needed to know about Otogakure. Everything I ever needed to know about the perfect time to attack. It was all thanks to Suigetsu, who has been feeding Konohagakure information on your village once every month for a very long time, Yakushi." Hinata hissed hatefully hatefully and shot towards him, kunai in hand, ready to kill.

**(A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger everyone. I'll try to update on time! I really will. I also apologize for this weeks late update. I've been trying to update either late Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning….and failing miserably…but that's besides the point. This week it wasn't my fault that it was late, my mom said we were going to York on Friday and she decided to tell us that Thursday night. But anyway, I changed my mind about this chapter being the sad ending one because if I didn't then I would have to repeat everything I just wrote in the happy ending. For those of you who will read both, you would be reading the same thing twice basically, so I wanted to save you some time. I know it's short this week, but I couldn't figure out how to make it longer. -.-' Hope you like it. Review please??)**


	16. Death of a Friend

**(A/N: I am sooooooooo sooooooo sorry for the three week late update. I've been really depressed lately and I couldn't focus on this chapter very well. When I could finally focus, [last week around Thursday] I couldn't find the time to type. I swear! My family is so busy. I have church on Sunday, Wednesday, and sometimes we have play practice on Tuesday. My brother has cub scouts on Mondays, and last weekend, my friend came over and stayed all weekend. She moved to another state, so I don't get to see her much anymore. I just now finished the chapter and I have been working on it during all the spare time I had this past week. Again, sorry for the late update!! Forgive me please!? By the way, I'm going to do the epilogue on the happy ending, not this one.)**

Chapter 16: Death of a Friend

Kabuto tensed, drawing out a kunai knife and, in the process, blocking Hinata's blow. He smirked at her then jumped back. "What are you doing here? Posing as simple villagers. Hah! I can't believe you've fallen that far, Snake. When did you and Sasuke-kun get married?" He spoke, taunting.

Hinata growled, face twisting in anger. "I am here to kill you. We were never married; Uzumaki-sama drew up a false wedding document. And I owe you no explanation as to why we did what we did."

"Ah. Are you still angry about **that**? You must be, what else could I have done to make you so angry? But you can't blame me; all I did was follow orders. The one who should be accused of committing that crime here is **you**."

The Oto men looked unto the scene with curiosity, wanting to know what the conversation was about. That is, until they were set upon by Suigetsu and Sasuke.

One was killed instantly as Sasuke swept his katana in front of him, slicing the man in half. The four who had managed to doge his katana swiftly pulled out shuriken and kunai alike, beginning a two-on-four battle to the death.

The opposing ninja split up, two going for Sasuke, the other two for Suigetsu.

Suigetsu quickly completed hand signs, forming a single Mizu Buushin and running forward to attack the two Sound who had dared battle him. Both him and the clone pulled out Kubikiri Houcho(1) and swung at the ninja with whom they were fighting.

Both nins jumped into the air, casting down kunai with exploding tags attached. Suigetsu's clone was struck in the shoulder by one, turning back into water and disappearing. Suigetsu scowled and swung Kubikiri Houcho effectively managing to cut one Sound's stomach, leaving a deep, heavily bleeding gash.

He immediately wrapped his arm protectively over his newly acquired wound, putting pressure on it to stem the bleeding as much as possible.

While his fellow ninja was occupied, and Suigetsu's attention was on him, the other Oto ninja snuck up behind Suigetsu, and was just about to bring a kunai down on the man's head when Suigetsu whipped away. The Oto nin did manage to slice Suigetsu's cheek deeply, leaving a cut that would scar permanently and bleed profusely until healed.

This was harder than Suigetsu had imagined. He had thought that since it was the Winter Festival, most of Kabuto's guards would be drunk and tipsy, if not Kabuto himself. But these men had definitely not had any alcohol anytime recently. Pausing for a moment, he concentrated his chakra to his sword, slashing out with it and pushing the chakra into the body it connected with.

The man instantly fell, dead, to the ground. Suigetsu looked around cautiously for the other Oto ninja.

The last man standing against Suigetsu was hiding in a tree nearby, waiting to see what his opponent would do. He smirked as Suigetsu glanced first over first to where Sasuke was battling with two Oto ninja, then to where Snake was fighting Kabuto.

Suigetsu looked on for a moment, listening closely to what they were saying.

"Oh, now don't be mad about that, Snake. I didn't kill him. You did." Kabuto said, prodding at her weakness.

Hinata growled, tears forming in her eyes, but none leaking down her face. She refused to show her tears to the monster before her. "Iie. I didn't kill him! You are the reason he is dead now!" She shrieked and rushed toward the Otokage.

The man before her brought his kunai forward and made a slash at Hinata as she ran toward him. Quickly, she hopped backward, spun, and launched a shuriken at Kabuto, nailing him in the upper arm.

He winced, pulling the shuriken lodged in his arm out and tossing it back at her with precision faster than the human eye can follow.

Hinata, scratched on the waist by her own shuriken, channeled chakra to her eyes to activate her Byakugan. Succeeding, she dropped into her Jyuuken stance, one she had not used since her cousin had been killed. Running forward, she lashed out with her hand.

Kabuto swept an arm out, punching her, but she used Kawarimi no Jutsu, replacing herself with a log. Instantly flipping into the air, Kabuto kicked, knocking the breath from Hinata, who had a katana in hand, ready to slice in a downward stroke.

She flew further into the air, holding her chest as she fell to the ground a few short seconds later. Lying motionless for a moment, so as to appear dead, she listened as Kabuto came nearer.

As he stood over her, she opened her eyes and with all the might she could muster, she jabbed his chest with her Jyuuken, missing the heart, but still doing great harm. Kabuto staggered back grasping at his chest and breathing heavily.

She glared at him. He glared back. "Don't blame me for Itachi's death. I did what I was supposed to do: follow orders. You are the only one at fault here. Had you tried harder, he might be standing here with you right now." He stated calmly, trying to bring her to her knees, trying to bring her to tears.

However, this had an opposite effect. It enraged her. "Iie! I tried my hardest. There was nothing I could do to heal him! You are the one he fought. You are the one who cut the chakra to his heart. You are the reason he is dead!" She shouted, running at him with renewed vigor.

Looking momentarily stunned, he simply stood holding his chest and breathing harshly. Seconds before she speared him with her katana, he came to his senses, bringing his own sword forward.

Suigetsu's eyes widened. _No! _He watched as before his eyes, both powerful ninja were run through with swords.

Both Otokage and Konoha ANBU's eyes widened also. Kabuto immediately fell to the ground dead from a slash to the heart.

Hinata, though, was more fortunate, for she had been jabbed by Kabuto at the last minute. He had hit a vital point, but not one she would die from within the next few moments. _I should be able to fight for a little while longer. _She thought.

Pulling Kabuto's sword from her stomach, she jumped forward throwing a kunai toward Suigetsu's head. It passed by him, clipping his hair slightly and nailing Suigetsu's other opponent in the face, effectively removing him from battle.

Hinata stood, panting, and watched as Sasuke dispatched his last opponent with a powerful Raikiri.

He turned to face Suigetsu, and, upon seeing Hinata injured, he walked over to them. "What happened?" He inquired.

"Run through by Kabuto's sword, last minute." Hinata panted, on the verge of collapsing.

"Why did you let down your defenses?"

"That night, when I lost Itachi-koi, it was Kabuto who fought him. I don't know all the details. Kisame-kun said that Kabuto attacked Itachi-koi after a huge Akatsuki battle. Itachi-koi was weakened because he had to use Mangekyou Sharingan and he was attacked by Kabuto in his weakened state. Itachi-koi was defeated and almost died when Kabuto disconnected his chakra network around his heart. He knew I was out in the wood that night, so he requested that Kisame-kun bring him to me to try to heal him. I wasn't good enough, and I blamed myself for his death for a long time. Then I realized, a short time ago, that I did nothing wrong. Kabuto killed Itachi-koi. Then I swore vengeance on Kabuto no matter what. I won, but at a cost." Hinata said, panting heavily due to her wound.

"Hinata-nee, stop talking. You need to save your strength!" Suigetsu said.

"Iie, Suigetsu-nii. I'm finished and you know it. There is no way anyone in Otogakure will heal me, I just killed their leader. We can't make it back home in time, and there are no villages anywhere near here. I'm too weak to perform my own medical jutsu. Neither of you know medical ninjutsu, so all three of us know I'm going to die." Hinata fell backwards, losing her footing.

Suigetsu caught her before she hit the ground. "But what about Hikari? What about your village? What will they do? You were one of their most powerful shinobi."

"I'm going to trust that you and Sasuke will take care of Hikari for me." Hinata paused and looked up at Suigetsu and Sasuke. She reached into her shuriken pouch and pulled out her diary. "Rip out the pages in the back with writing on them and give them to the stated person, please Sasuke-san."

She handed the diary to him. "What do you want me to do with the rest of it?"

"Burn it." She ordered in the most commanding voice she could muster.

"Why do you want me to burn it?"

"Because some things are better left unknown, for the sake of everyone in the village."

"Wait a minute. When did you write on the last pages of your diary? Was it earlier when you said you forgot something at the apartment?"

"Hai." She admitted solemnly.

"Hinata-nee, you knew you were going to die didn't you?" Suigetsu concluded.

"Hai. I figured I would. I wanted to let Hokage-sama know something. Also you two, Keigo, and Hikari. Please don't read any of the letters but your own. I'm trusting you." She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. "I can finally be with Itachi-koi once again."

"Iie, keep breathing, Hinata-nee!"

"Leave it, Suigetsu. Nothing we can do will save her." Sasuke said in a choked voice, turning his back so Suigetsu could not see his tears. He opened the diary and ripped out the pages she told him to. Looking for the one with his name, he discovered that his was the longest and last that she wrote.

_Dear Sasuke,_

_I appreciate what you did for me last night. I know I wrote that this morning, but, I just wanted to make sure you knew. Don't cry for me though, for I do not deserve your sadness. When we were young, I used to hate you. I always felt that the feeling was mutual, so I never tried to approach you to be friends. I see now that I missed out on a good friend. I wish I had been stronger back then. Maybe then I could have spoken to you and tried to make you give up on killing your brother. Then we wouldn't have had to go through all this. Sometimes, I feel as though I have caused all this pain in my life. But you needn't worry now. I'm finally going to be back with Itachi-koi. Make sure Hikari gets my letter and read Keigo his, onegai. He cannot read. Please take care of Hikari and do not hate her for being Itachi-koi's daughter. I know I'm asking a lot of you, but I need to know that my daughter is safe. Keigo is probably going to go wherever she goes, so take care of him too, if he decides he wants to stay? Again, I'm sorry I'm asking so much of you. Just to let you know, I consider you a close friend and wouldn't trust Hikari and Keigo with anyone else but Suigetsu-nii._

_Wishing you luck,_

_Hinata_

Suigetsu sat holding her body, still shocked that his rescuer, a strong Kunoichi, had been killed. He was glad she had died looking at peace, instead of the worried look she always wore, but he still wished she didn't have to die. It was unfair, the world. Always, the ones most loved had to die.

Both men looked to the bright moon before them, peeking through the trees, lighting the clearing. Sasuke stood, staring at the moon. The tears sparkling down his face were of no comparison to the pain he felt in his heart. He pitied Hinata for all the pain she had to go through. He felt guilty that he had pained her heart, as he knew he did, when he talked about needing to kill his brother.

When he read the final diary entry, he had begun to feel something once more. He was unsure whether it was love or not, but now, he would never again have the chance to find out. _This must be harder for Suigetsu, though. She was like a sister to him._ Sasuke glanced over to Suigetsu, who was still frozen on the ground, hugging Hinata's body close to him. Sasuke walked up to him, silent for a few moments.

Suigetsu knew Sasuke was watching him, but he didn't care. Hinata was the only person in the world whom he was close to, and now she was gone. It didn't help that he hadn't gotten the chance to say a proper goodbye, but, he supposed, neither did her daughter.

She spoke of Hikari a lot when they met. At first, her daughter was all she was willing to speak of that had to do with Konoha. As time passed, and he learned more about Konoha, Hikari was still her favorite subject. Suigetsu had learned many things about Hikari, but never actually saw her. He knew that Hinata had cared for Hikari immensely and vice versa, though to Hikari, Hinata was Snake, so he knew that when he and Sasuke arrived home with 'Snake's' body, the poor girl would be devastated.

Suigetsu almost jumped when Sasuke tapped his shoulder. He looked up and saw Sasuke holding out a small piece of paper. "It's your letter from Hinata." He said simply.

Suigetsu took the paper from Sasuke.

_Dear Suigetsu-nii,_

_Arigatou gozamizu for being so helpful. It was only thanks to you that I was able to exact my revenge upon Kabuto. If you need somewhere to live, you can stay in Konoha if you want. Just tell Hokage-sama that you were a close friend of mine. Although, I'm sure he'll pick up on that if you are talking about me and say Hinata-nee. Ironic isn't it? Death is the only way I get peace, but it causes a major disturbance in other lives. I know you guys will miss me, and I'll miss you too, but I'm finally with Itachi-koi again, so don't cry for me. I'm happy._

_Your sis,_

_Hinata_

It was silent for a few moments while Suigetsu thought about the letter.

"We probably need to head back to Konohagakure." Sasuke called out, snapping Suigetsu away from his thoughts. He folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

Suigetsu stood silently and followed Sasuke back to Konoha, both men attempting to staunch the tears that teemed slowly and ceaselessly down their cheeks.

Upon arriving, they teleported directly to Naruto's office, taking care that no one saw whom it was that they were carrying. Sasuke knocked on the door and heard Naruto's "Enter."

Pushing open the door, Suigetsu quickly walked into the room before Sasuke. "Hokage-sama." Suigetsu bowed.

"What are you doing here!? I thought we killed you-" Naruto shouted, pausing when he noticed what Suigetsu was carrying, and that the man's cheeks were covered in tear smudges.

"Gomen. There was nothing we could do." Suigetsu said.

"Hinata managed to complete the mission successfully, but at the high cost of her life, Naruto." Sasuke said. He no longer cared who saw his tears; he let them run freely down his cheeks already stained with both dried blood and salty tears.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out Hinata's letter to Naruto and reached across the desk to hand it to the man. "She said to give this to you."

Naruto unfolded the page and scanned it quickly.

_Naruto-san_

_I appreciate you sending me on this mission. I remembered what it feels like to be loved, even if it was pretend. Do not feel guilty for my death. I welcome it. I have been confused and seemingly heartless, and I know you worry for me. I can finally be back with my Itachi-koi, so do not be sad for me, either. Please, tell no one that I am Snake, for I do not want them in pain without reason. Let them continue believing we are two separate people, for their sakes, especially Hikari. I have entrusted her and Keigo to either Sasuke-kun or Suigetsu-nii. Please allow Suigetsu-nii to live in the village, for he is as loyal to you as I was. He has been the one feeding us information from Otogakure at the risk of his life over the past many years. _

_Take care, _

_Hinata_

He smiled sadly, glancing up at Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Hinata's body. "I believe you should go visit Hikari-chan and Keigo-kun. Hinata has left them in your care. Decide who's going to care for them and report to me. Suigetsu, would you like to stay here in Konoha?"

"I would be pleased if you would allow it."

"Of course. Hinata trusted you and you were the one that gave us the information on the correct time that we should attack. You are welcome to stay." He stood and walked to Suigetsu. Reaching out, he took Hinata's body from the former man's hands and spoke once again. "I'll be right back." He poofed from the room, leaving a small puff of smoke.

Moments later, he returned, carrying Hinata's body, but he had put her mask on her. "We will have a funeral for her in two days. Spread the word around that she's been killed. If either of you tell anyone who she was, you will be going against her last wishes, and bringing unnecessary grief to others."

Sasuke and Suigetsu nodded slightly, tearstained cheeks looking out of place on the two mighty ninja. They turned, leaving the room, wiping their eyes before they walked out of the door.

They left Hokage Tower, heading toward Hinata's former house. Walking up the path, Sasuke knocked on the door, standing in front of Suigetsu so as not to alarm Hikari or Keigo.

The door opened cautiously, slowly. Hikari peeked out, being more careful than Sasuke had ever seen her. "What happened?" She asked quietly. Sasuke glanced at her, confused. She elaborated. "Where's Snake-sama? I can sense two presences out here, but neither of them are her's. Who's that man?"

"This is Suigetsu. He helped Snake-sama gather information on Otogakure by pretending to be a citizen there. The good news is that Snake-sama and I completed the mission successfully."

"And the bad news?" Hikari questioned. Sasuke held out the letter that Hinata had written for her daughter. Hikari took it, and unfolded the small piece of paper.

_Hikari,_

_I thank you for being such an attentive apprentice. If you are reading this, I finally killed Kabuto, exacting revenge on the man who ruined your mother's life. I'm sorry, but I have been killed, and I know that you will hurt, but please do not cry for me. I am not worthy of your tears. Take care of Keigo and be good for Sasuke and Suigetsu. You can choose which of them you'll be staying with, but make sure it's okay with them first, Hanii. Please try to explain why I'm not going to come back to Keigo, but be gentle, okay? I trust you and you continue to carry my support with you whatever you do. Remember your lessons well, and do not make the same mistakes your mother and I made._

_Snake-sama_

Hikari's eyes watered, and, upon turning around, she came face to face with Keigo. "Where's Snake-sama?" He asked quietly. "I don't see her out there with Sasuke-san." He paused, noting the tears on her face. "Is she not coming home?"

"Iie, Keigo, she's not going to be coming back. Do you remember what happened to Moth- ano- Hinata?"

"Hai. Snake-sama said she died when she had to fight Itachi."

"Aa. Snake-sama had to go fight Kabuto. She battled with him for a long time, and she ended up winning, but she lost her life in the process, Keigo-kun." She hugged him as he began to sob, clinging onto Hikari's hand as though it would save his life.

Sasuke pulled out another letter, handed it to Keigo, and stepped inside to sit down, motioning for Suigetsu to do the same. "Keigo-kun, can you read?" He asked the small boy in Hikari's arms, already knowing the answer, but wanting him to confirm it.

"Iie. I never learned. Okaa-san was always too busy with work and Otou-san was too. My family was too poor for me to go to school."

"Would you like me to read the letter that Snake-sama left for you then?"

"Hai."

"Dear Keigo, I'm sorry, but I can't come home with Sasuke-san. Suigetsu-nii is a very nice man, though Sasuke is too. You can stay with whichever of them you want to if it's okay with them. Be a good boy and study hard when you start school. Stay strong, Snake."

"What does she mean, 'when I start school?'"

"I guess you'll be going to the academy with the rest of the kids your age. You don't have to be a ninja, you can go there just to study if you want to."

"Cool." Keigo said with a wistful tone.

"Cheer up, Keigo. It'll all be okay soon." Suigetsu said gently. He turned to Hikari. "I'm guessing you are the infamous Hikari-chan?"

"Infamous? Iie. But my name _is_ Hikari."

"Snake-nee spoke of you often. She loved you more than you think. But I'll understand if you would rather stay with Sasuke-san than with me. Don't worry."

"Are you sure you won't be offended?"

"Hai."

"Okay." Hikari looked relieved. "Sasuke-san, would it be okay if I stayed with you?"

"Me too! Me too!" Keigo shouted.

"Sure. I have more than enough room in the Uchiha Mansion. I don't really care. Suigetsu, where are you planning on staying?"

"I'm going to rent an apartment in the Hokage Tower."

With that settled, all went deeper into the Uchiha Mansion, away from any prying eyes that might intrude upon their sadness.

**Two Days Later**

The whole town gathered at the Hokage Mountain to pay their respects to Snake-sama. They assembled in a large black mass in front of her picture that so many of the faces knew. It was the only picture they had of the ever elusive Snake. It was her ANBU coronation picture. Required. That was the only reason she allowed it to be taken. She was wearing her mask, clothed in full ANBU garb, rigid in posture, not giving away one hint of her emotion.

Though not a single villager knew whom she was save for Naruto, Sasuke and Suigetsu, they all knew what she had done to protect them. They believed that she had rid the world of Otogakure at the sacrifice of her life. This alone was enough reason for the villagers to pay their respects, but the three who knew her knew she had done much more than that: she had been a mother, healed many of their most powerful ninja, and protected the village with everything she could give.

For Hikari and Keigo, the woman before them had meant much more to them. She had cared for Hikari when the child assumed she was alone. She had helped her with her training to become strong enough to be an ANBU's apprentice at age eleven. She had taught Keigo that not all ninja are evil and out to kill anyone they meet. She had given him a home and family when he thought he would never have one again.

For Sasuke, she was a friend, a possible love, a companion, and an inspiration.

For Suigetsu, she was a friend, a sister, a confident, a liberator.

These were the people she had the greatest impact on. The people who would miss her the most. They knew she was happy, and with Itachi wherever she was, but this gave the ones she left behind only small comfort.

People could move on, but they could never forget the influence she had on three of the most powerful Konoha shinobi.

**(A/N: I can't even say how sorry I am for the late chapter. Don't kill me! –squeaks and ducks when brick is thrown at her- I tried not to make it too depressing, but I still don't like the ending… I'm sorry if it seems a bit rushed. Please review!)**

(1) Kubikiri Houcho – The sword that Suigetsu uses. Was once Zabuza's if I'm not mistaken. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.


	17. Alternate Ending

**(A/N: Gomen nasai! I am not good with fight scenes… -.-' Hehehe. I was kinda hyper when I typed part of this chapter. You'll know where I'm talking about when you read… Anyway, I don't own Naruto. Please review? I don't care if it says finished, PLEASE REVIEW AND MAKE AN INSANE AUTHORESS HAPPY?!?)**

Chapter 17: Alternate Ending!

Kabuto watched as she took three of her kunai and tossed them to the side. She struck three of his men, instantly killing them when their tips embedded themselves in their foreheads and chests with the help of her chakra.

Following her lead, Sasuke and Suigetsu ran after the two remaining ninja, effectively killing them after much effort.

Kabuto watched Hinata with interest as she ran at him with a simple kunai after killing three of his men. When she was close enough, he jumped out of the way, successfully avoiding her kunai, but getting slashed shallowly by the chakra she had pushed into the blade.

She landed a few feet from where he stood, brandishing her kunai near her face. Keeping her eyes on the opponent at hand, she spoke. "Sasuke-san, Suigetsu-nii, go back to Konoha. This fight is between Kabuto and me. There is no hope for all three of us to survive. If you two return, at least I know you'll make it. Don't wait on me, or expect me to come back. Go. Now!"

"Iie. I stay here to fight with you! There will be a higher chance of us surviving with all three of us fighting than with only you. There is no way I am leaving you here Nee-chan."

"I agree with Suigetsu. We stay and help you fight. Think of what Hikari would say if we left you and you died. She would hate us for leaving you."

Hinata sighed and watched Kabuto carefully as he stood across from her, gazing at them with a bemused expression. "Stay if you must but keep out of my way. I want to kill this man. He is the one who murdered Itachi-koi." She growled.

"Oh, don't blame me for the loss of your lover. It is your fault for not trying hard enough to save him. I was only following orders." The look of pleasure that passed across Kabuto's face when Hinata's eyes began to tear up disgusted the two other men in the clearing.

Upon glancing at one another, Sasuke nodded his head and spoke: "We will let you exact your revenge upon Kabuto, but we will intervene if we see that you could be killed."

"Fine. I guess that is the only way you will allow me to fight alone?" Hinata replied sarcastically, growling once again.

"Iie. We won't." Suigetsu said.

Wasting no more time, Hinata jumped forward, hoping to catch Kabuto off guard. She failed though, for at the last moment, he bounded backward launching a kunai back to her.

She caught it, and tossed it aside. Hinata performed the hand signs for Kage Bushin no jutsu. Her clone immediately appeared.

While Kabuto was searching for it so as not to be harmed by either one of them, Hinata pulled a small number of senbon from her weapons pouch, and threw them at Kabuto. While he was occupied with blocking them, her clone appeared above him, throwing more senbon, this time tipped with poison. The clone disappeared after its purpose was fulfilled. The poison was not as fast working as she would have liked, but it would suffice for this battle: the better to let him suffer before he died. She would much rather have that than him to die a painless death. She couldn't have that happen.

Smirking when he was scraped only in the slightest by one of the senbon thrown from above, she leapt toward Kabuto when his eyes closed slightly from a wince. He parried her assault, glaring daggers when she leered at him. "Those senbon were tipped with poison." She stated.

Kabuto's eyes widened as he looked down at his faintly bleeding scrape. There was no jutsu he could perform to rid himself of the poison during battle. "Well, if I cannot save myself, I will take you down with me!" He shouted, propelling himself forward katana in hand.

Hinata leapt into the air to avoid his razor sharp katana only seconds before it sliced the air where she had previously stood. Upon pulling out a katana of her own, Hinata swung with all her might, cutting off a lock of Kabuto's hair.

He smirked slightly, disappearing before her eyes only to be replaced with a log. She scowled. _How did I miss the hand signs for that!?_

Gasping faintly, Hinata spun around, only to have Kabuto shove a kunai into her shoulder. Blood spattered both ninja's faces and bodies. Almost doubling over in pain, she grasped the wound and angrily yanked the kunai from her arm.

Kabuto laughed, in spite of the pain he was feeling. The poison was slowly shutting his system down and it was affecting his fighting. _I need to end this soon, else I will die before her._

_Will this man ever die? _Hinata thought as she panted. She heard his laughter and stood straight, knowing that he would be out of the picture soon. She stuck her katana into the ground and balanced on the handle while performing the hand signs to activate her Byakugan. _I haven't used my Jyuuken since Neji-nii-san. Let's hope I'm still as good as I was before._ Lunging forward, she shot her hands toward Kabuto's lungs.

Before Kabuto knew what had happened, he was lying on his back in the grass struggling to breathe. He opened his eyes to see a smirking Hinata standing over him. Slowly getting to his feet without letting his eyes leave her, he reached out and grasped his katana.

Hinata believed he had not the strength to lift his heavy weapon, so when he lifted it from the ground and swung at her with faster speed than she assumed possible, she was unable to move from its path quickly enough to avoid it. A black flash of color blinded her for a few moments, but when the blurry figure cleared, she saw that Sasuke had jumped in front of the sword. She gasped. "Sasuke-san!"

He laughed slightly, dispite the pain from the gash on his shoulder where Kabuto's sword sliced him. "You can't afford to loose anymore blood. Besides, if I just let you get hurt like that when I could have done something about it, I would feel as though I were useless."

A choking noise sounded from behind Sasuke. The katana fell from Kabuto's grip and slid from Sasuke's shoulder to the grass below him as Kabuto fell face-first into the ground.

"I've finally done it. I finally killed him. It took so long and so much pain, but I finally did it. I can't believe he's dead. Honestly, I didn't think I would survive this." She turned her attention back to Sasuke and hugged him.

He expected this hug like he had expected her to hug him when she had woken up crying from her nightmare. He hadn't. Sasuke winced as she put pressure on his newly acquired wound. "Domo arigatou, Sasuke-kun! You helped me finally achieve my purpose in life. Kabuto is dead! I finally avenged Itachi-koi." She removed her hand from his wound to find that it was bloodier than she had suspected it to be.

Gasping, she put her hand back. Suigetsu watched as her hand began to glow blue with healing energy. Sasuke relaxed as his damaged shoulder began to heal.

Slowly, Hinata withdrew her hand and began to heal her own injuries with the precious remains of her chakra.

"What now?" Suigetsu asked.

"Now, we return to Konoha and report to Naruto-san that the mission was a success. Then we go home and continue with our everyday lives. We will let the daimyo who rules over Otogakure settle their own affairs now that it is no longer a ninja village. If you want, you may come back to Konoha with us and live there, Suigetsu-nii."

"I would love to come back with you." Suigetsu gave her a side long glance, making sure she was okay.

"We need to get going before some villager from Oto comes to find out what all the noise was." Hinata said, making her way across the clearing after putting away her kunai, not bothering to conceal that a fight had occurred.

Sasuke and Suigetsu followed her, leaving the bodies of six Oto ninja behind as they made their way home. That night, as they made camp, the two men agreed that they would take the shifts and let Hinata sleep because of her exhaustion. Reluctantly, she agreed, and she and Sasuke went to their tents to sleep, leaving Suigetsu to take first watch.

"_Itachi-koi? Is that you?" Asked the girl, looking into the red eyes of the man before her._

"_Hai, Hina-hime. It is. You did not have to risk your life to avenge me. You knew that. And yet, still you did. Why?" His blood red Sharingan bore into her own, pure white Byakugan._

"_Because I love you. I expected that we would be an equal match and you and I could meet once again after the battle."_

"_Nii-san changed that, though, did he not? Now what are you going to do." Itachi questioned._

"_I don't know. I feel so…torn. I love you. I will always love you, but I think I'm falling in love with Sasuke-san. Itachi-koi, tell me what I should do!" She said as a tear escaped her eye._

"_You know what you need to do. You have been trying to avoid it your whole life, though. You need to move on. Don't be miserable because I have died. Laugh, smile, and have a good time once more. Move on, Hina-hime, we will be together once more, but for now, love again. You and I both know that you need it to mend your heart." Itachi reached his arm forward and stroked her cheek, wiping the tears from her eyes._

"_Arigatou, Itachi-koi. You always did know exactly what words I needed to hear. Ashiteru wa."_

"_Ashiteru wa, Hina-hime."_

Her vision of Itachi suddenly ended when she awoke to two frantic voices. "Hinata-nee!" Suigetsu shouted.

Fully awake, she stood and rushed from the tent. "What's wrong, what's happening?" She asked quickly, activating her Byakugan to scan the area.

"We have been trying to wake you for the past five minutes. Usually, you wake up the first time someone calls your name. We were starting to think something happened to you."

"I'm fine, I was just sleeping happily for the first time in twelve years." She replied, stretching.

"It's time for us to clean up camp and get back to the village. Our allotted time is almost up."

"Right." They cleaned camp and arrived back at Konoha shortly after noon. They transported straight to Hokage Tower to talk to Naruto once home.

When Hinata, Sasuke and Suigetsu appeared in the middle of his office, Naruto jumped and got into his battle stance. Upon seeing who it was, he started to greet them, but broke off when Suigetsu made his presence known. "Why is Suigetsu in my office?" He asked with a voice of cold steel.

"Relax, he is with us." Hinata spoke.

Naruto glanced at her, then did a double-take. "You are not wearing your mask!"

"Iie. My mission was completed successfully. Even the one that neither one of us knew of. The mission you secretly assigned us. I thank you for that."

"How are you going to tell everyone else in the village that you have been living among them for the past years? How are you going to explain to Kiba, Shino, the Hyuugas, and, most importantly, Hikari?"

"I am simply going to tell them it was Hinata, not Snake, whom they respected all these years in a formal speech sometime later. Right now, I have to go tell Hikari and Keigo who I am before anything. Then maybe I'll arrange the speech for later in the week."

"And explain to me why Suigetsu is here."

"He is the one who has been feeding us information on Oto for the past years. He was our double agent who gave us the correct times that we needed to know for the attack. I offered him a place here, because I think he has proved that he is trustworthy and has shown his loyalty to Konoha."

"Very well, I trust your judgment, but the first time it seems as though he is a spy for someone else, he leaves. You can stay in one of the apartments in the city if you want. Agreed, Suigetsu?"

"Hai. And I will take you up on that offer."

"Okay. You are all dismissed. Suigetsu, follow me and I will show you your new house."

Hinata and Sasuke made their way back to the Uchiha Mansion. Hinata took a deep breath as she opened the door after putting on her mask and prepared herself for the oncoming emotions she had avoided for such a long time. "We're home!"

Hikari came running down the hall with Keigo following closely behind. "Snake-sama! You're back!" She hugged the older woman. Upon realizing what she had done, she promptly let go.

"Listen, Hikari-chan. I need to tell you something, hanii. Let's go sit down and talk." Sasuke led them down the hall and entered the first door they came to. Sasuke sat a chair that they had found in the room while the children sat on the floor in front of them.

When every one was seated and comfortable, Hinata stood before them. She lowered her head and removed her mask, revealing her identity to Hikari. The younger girl sat, quiet for a few moments. "Kaa-san?" She said quietly.

"Hai." Hinata matched her tone. She was surprised when Hikari threw herself at her and hugged her tightly.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why, Kaa-san?" She cried.

"I couldn't, hanii. You were so young then, and I couldn't let you know because you might have told someone. I know you would never do it on purpose, but it might slip out. I am so sorry for everything that you've had to go through. I did it all for you. I made sure that no one knew that I was the Hyuuga heiress so that you could live a happier life than I, so that you would be able to enjoy the freedom I was denied. I love you so much, Hikari." Hinata bent down and hugged her daughter back.

Sasuke watched the reunion, if you could call it that, of mother and daughter, slightly envious of their bond. No matter what Hinata put Hikari through, her daughter still accepted her apologies and forgave her. He had no idea where the jealousy came from, but he knew it was there. "What are you going to tell the rest of the village?"

"Naruto-san already knows, but I'm going to tell the rest of the village who I am and why I hid my identity in a speech later. I wanted you to know first, hanii."

**Two Days Later**

Taking a deep breath, Hinata took courage from Hikari's reaction to her identity. Looking out at the mass of people who gathered, she wondered that people were so curious as to who she was. Then again, who wouldn't want to know who their fellow villager was? Glancing over the crowd once more, she spotted her sister, Hanabi, among them.

With a pang of guilt, she thought about the pain she had caused others, and her resolve to reveal her identity faltered slightly. She shook her head.

Taking one final steadying breath, she stepped out into the open, prepared to remove the mask she had hidden behind for so many years. As she looked at the villagers, she wondered how she could have been so heartless as to pretend to be dead. Could she not have just refused to live with the Hyuuga and not accept to be clan head to free both her daughter and herself from the restrictions of that life?

Slowly, she looked up, mask still upon her face, and spoke. "I have many regrets, and hiding my identity from you all the worst one I could harbour. I'm sorry for hiding myself from you all, but at the time, I felt it was necessary." Gradually, she lowered her hand and grasped her mask, taking the porcelain from her face.

Gasps rang from the audience as she looked back up. She caught many reactions from once-close friends and family alike. Hinata stood proudly before the audience, her resolve not faltering as she looked upon mixed anger, happiness, and undecided emotions.

As some members of the audience moved forward to speak to her, others remained frozen to the spot with shock, while still others moved to leave for their homes.

When all settled, Hinata looked upon the members of the congregation who were left behind. The surviving Konoha twelve, her daughter, Keigo, Naruto, and the Hyuugas were the only ones who stayed.

Kiba walked forward first. "Is that really you, Hinata-chan?"

"Hai. It has been me the whole time. Listen, I'm sorry Kiba-kun. When I faked my death, I thought I was doing something right for a change. Under Father's roof, I could do nothing right. That was the whole reason he disowned me. I thought that if I could be rid of the Hyuuga, I might be able to raise Hikari the way I wanted and not have to worry about the approval of others. I thought I was doing what was right for her. I see now that it was a mistake. I can't believe I let everyone believe I was dead." For the first time in many years, Hinata cried publicly.

Shocked, Kiba stared at her for a long moment as he watched the forever-strong 'Snake' break down before him. Shino moved to his side and stood as a shadow. Silent, dark, imposing. "Did you really think it would be better to play dead when you could have disowned the Hyuuga instead of the other way around? Did you think that by acting dead you would accomplish anything but bringing others pain? All those times we went on missions to search for you… That last time when we met you… How could you not have told us?" He asked, voicing the questions she had asked herself many times before.

Hinata looked down in shame, not bothering to come to her own defense because she believed she deserved everything that had happened to her.

"Do you think berating her on the choices she made in the past will do anything but push her further away from you? Do you think making her feel more pain than she already has will do anything? She had her reasons for doing everything. You feel betrayed. When you get over it, you will only feel guilty for voicing questions like that." A voice spoke out from behind Hinata. A hand laid on her shoulder and the familiar masculine voice made Hinata turn around.

Sasuke stood next to her with Suigetsu close behind. Sasuke wrapped his arm around her shoulder and rubbed her arm gently in a comforting manner.

Suigetsu had noticed them growing closer ever since Hinata had come to him after experiencing her nightmare once more. When Sasuke had saved Hinata's life during their fight with Kabuto, he had noticed that they had been even closer than before. Many times, he had contemplated the fact that they could be falling in love, but never had he seen any proof of that until now.

He watched as Sasuke reprimanded Shino for his words and knew his thought to be true.

After her former team left, Ino, Tenten, and Sakura, along with Shikamaru walked forward. They were ecstatic that she was alive, but sad that she had not trusted them with her secret as she had trusted Naruto and Sasuke. Hinata managed to refrain from saying that she hadn't trusted Sasuke with her secret, it had been given away, when Sasuke stiffened by her side.

As Ino, Shikamaru, Tenten, and Sakura left, her former clan walked forward with Hanabi at its head. "Onee-san! You're alive!" She cried and threw herself into her sister's arms.

Hinata was surprised by the warm welcome. "Imouto-chan. Hai, I'm alive."

Contrary to many people's belief, Hinata and her sister had been very close to each other. When Hinata had disappeared, Hanabi barely ate or slept. Upon realizing that would not please her sister had she still been alive, Hanabi immediately took up her position as Hyuuga leader when her age permitted it. It had taken her a while to fully get over the pain of her loss, but Hanabi finally accepted that her sister was dead.

Harbouring no anger toward her sister, when Hinata had revealed herself as Snake, Hanabi was ecstatic. "I missed you so much, Onee-san." Hanabi said quietly.

Hinata hugged Hanabi back tightly after her initial shock ended. "Sumimasen, Imouto-chan." She watched as her sister broke the embrace and stepped back to examine her.

Hanabi studied her carefully, then opened her mouth to speak. "Do you want to take your place as heiress, Onee-san?"

"Iie. I left for a reason. I don't want the title, nor the power. I wanted to protect Hikari from that, so I don't want to go back. I thank you though." Hinata watched as her sister's expression cleared and she bid Hanabi good bye.

"Sayonara, Onee-san." Hanabi said, waving back as she turned and led her clan back to their home.

A few moments later, Naruto came up to Hinata. "Sasuke, did you know of the underlying mission I sent you and Hinata on?"

"There was another part to our mission?" He asked in reply.

"You did not tell him?" Naruto directed this question to Hinata.

"I saw no reason to. Before a week ago, I did not care. I do now and I thank you." She smiled gently, happily, and looked toward the arm Sasuke had draped over her shoulder.

He nodded and spoke again. "Nice to see it's mutual." He chuckled slightly as Hinata blushed and Sasuke looked confused.

"What? What was the underlying mission? Tell me." He demanded.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Naruto sighed dramatically, laughing as Sasuke scowled and Hinata giggled.

Sasuke was silent for a moment. "Wait a minute! I'm older than you are!" He exclaimed.

Both Hinata and Naruto burst out in uncontrollable laughter. By the time they stopped laughing, Naruto had tears running down his cheeks. Sasuke was still scowling when Hinata spoke up. "You have to figure it out on your own. Think deeply and you might figure it out." She laughed at his confused expression and turned to Naruto. "I think we should be getting home. Sasuke and I still have to unpack from our mission. At least I do anyway. I'm kind of a procrastinator." She smiled.

Naruto smiled back. "Alright. I have to go back to the Tower anyway."

He watched as Hinata and Sasuke walked away, his arm still draped over her shoulder. He smirked as he thought of their completed missions and wondered faintly what would happen to Hinata and Sasuke in the future.

**(A/N: Ahahahahahahahahha!!!! It is finished! I admit it is a weak ending, but I will do an epilogue if I can get 91 reviews in all on SL… I feel kind of sad now that it is over… I won't be updating anymore unless I get 91 reviews, and if I don't, then it's all over for this story. I'm glad to know the end, but I'm sad to know it ended…does that even make sense at all? Anyway…I is so tired right now I feel like I'm about to fall out of my chair unconscious. I just got home from church [I had fun by the way! Our youth band, Unashamed, is amazing!] and I just feel like jumping on my bed and sleeping. BUT I MUST UPDATE NOW! Anyway, review please? I'm gonna put this story on finished, but if I get enough reviews, I'll update again!)**


	18. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**(A/N: Hey! Just to let you know, I'm not dead. I am in the process of writing the epilogue, but I'm kinda stuck cause of writer's block… yea… I know this is like, super late, but Happy Thanksgiving everyone! My Thanksgiving was…interesting. I spent it at a bar. No. I'm not old enough to drink. My cousin owns a bar, so he closed it and decided to have a private party type get together with my dad's side of the family. My Granny, Aunt, Uncle and seven cousins from Dad's side came down for the party. But when we were about to leave, my youngest cousin dared my Uncle to climb the tree outside the bar and, of course, my uncle had to climb it. So we kids (all six of us: my bro, me, and my four second cousins) all climbed in with him. Anyway, my aunt started taking pictures of us all in the tree, when Santa Clause walks up behind them! We all started saying "Hey, look, it's Santa!" but no one believed us. When my cousin who is closest to me in age shouted "no really!" everyone turned around and they were like "Wow! It really is Santa!" and he took pictures with us and everything…but then he walked into the bar……So, I learned: Santa drinks when Christmas is on the way…But anyway. I told my friend about it. The first thing she said was "YOU went to a bar." The second thing was "Do you have proof you saw Santa at a bar on Thanksgiving?" We laughed about it for the longest time…**

**That has absolutely nothing to do with why I have writers block, but I thought you might enjoy that story. Anyway, if you have anything you want to know about, any loose ends you can think of that I need to tie up, I'd be glad to write about them. I need some ideas…So…yea…Sorry that this isn't the epilogue. I know everyone wants one soon, and I'll try to type, but I'll get it up eventually. Again, sorry.)**


	19. Epilogue

**(A/N: AAAHHHHH!!!! I'm freaking out right now! NOOOOOOO! Not Kakashi!! Why not someone else! Why must the good die so young!?!?! First Asuma, then Itachi, then Jiraya, now Kakashi and Tsunade(?) Who's next? Kurenai? CAUTION: MUSHY CLICHÉNESS LATER IN CHAPTER.**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto… :'( )**

Chapter 18: Epilogue, Ten Years Later

"Kaito, come here, sweetie." Hinata called to a small, crying boy around the age of three.

He turned and ran toward his mother. "Kaa-san! I got an owie!" He said.

Hinata embraced the weeping boy. "What happened?"

"I was practicing my shuriken throwing technique with Tou-san and I scratched my finger on the edge." He said, showing his mother his bleeding pinky finger. "I'm sorry I used one of Tou-san's real weapons. I thought I could throw it good enough."

"Come inside and let Kaa-san bandage it for you." She said, leading the boy inside and sending a glance in her husband's direction. He shrugged sheepishly.

He mouthed 'Sorry, I was practicing with Yuuka and didn't notice until he'd already cut himself.'

Hinata shook her head and grabbed the bandages from a cupboard in the entrance hall. Her family had a tenancy to get hurt. Her children had all been practicing for the ninja academy since the age of three, but none of them had ever been allowed to use real weapons before the age of six. Having finished patching up her son, Hinata kissed it. "There, that'll make it all better." She smiled as he went back outside to play with his toy shuriken, straying far from the metal ones.

She followed him to the Uchiha training grounds and watched six of her children practicing the various jutsu and techniques their father had taught them. She also turned to watch Hikari as she walked down the narrow lane with her boyfriend. _I can't believe Hikari is twenty-one already._ She thought.

"Hey, Kaa-san!" Hikari said, stopping on the porch to greet her mother and turning to look at her half-siblings. "Yo, guys, what's up?" She shouted to them.

Her boyfriend, Tomoaki Kazuya, greeted them all as well. Everyone had already accepted him as part of the family, he had been coming around so much. The feeling was clearly mutual. He smiled at the children and waved as they called out to them.

Sasuke watched his children quickly file out of the training ground and into the house for lunch, then followed his wife, her daughter, and Kazuya inside to the table. Hinata began calling the names of her children to grab their lunches. "Kaito (3), ramen. Yuuka (5), rice with eggs. Shiori (7), pizza. Mitsuki (8), sushi. Keijiro (8), tomato sandwich, Keigo (18), soup. Hikari (21), salad. Kazuya-kun, would you like something also?" Hinata asked, handing Hikari her plate. Miyu, her seventh and youngest blood-related child, was now cradled in Hinata's arms, asleep. She had adopted Keigo, giving her eight children in all, shortly after she and Sasuke married nine years ago, and Naruto had given the final decision that he could stay.

"No thank you. I ate before I came." He smiled and watched as Hikari slathered ranch on her salad and ate it quickly.

Upon finishing, Hikari walked out the door with Kazuya. "We'll be back later, Kaa-san!" She shouted over her shoulder.

The young girl's mother waved back and turned to walk up the stairs. She had a mission report that had to be filled out from the week before. Being a procrastinator did not help when it came to those.

Unbeknownst to her, Sasuke followed her up the stairs and watched as she put Miyu in her cradle, then walked to their room.

Hinata sat at her desk, placed in her and Sasuke's room for them to finish mission reports and what not. Sasuke walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around his wife. She sighed into his embrace, and, as usual, completely forgot about her work. "I never imagined this would ever happen. Not once when I was younger did I ever consider the fact that I might marry you when I grew up." She whispered, almost silently. "I remember the day I first met and spent time with just you and Itachi-koi."

**Flashback**

"_Hinata, the Uchihas are going to take your father and me out for dinner tonight." Hinata's mother spoke to her five year old daughter in her soft, soothing voice. "They have two children, Itachi and Sasuke. I expect you to be very nice to them, not that we've ever had a problem with that before." Hinata looked up at her mother as she smiled._

"_How old are they, Kaa-san?" Hinata asked quietly._

"_Itachi is ten and Sasuke is five. I think you three will get along well. Fugaku-san, their father, said he was going to meet us at a restaurant in town and that Itachi would be babysitting you and Sasuke. Is that okay with you, Hinata?" The shy girl nodded her head. Her mother smiled again and patted her head. "Okay, good. Your father and I will be leaving as soon as the boys get here to meet with Fugaku-san and Mikoto-san."_

_A knock resounded in the front hall. "There they are now." The elder Hyuuga walked to the front door and opened it gently, revealing two boys with coal-black eyes standing before them. "Konbanwa, Itachi-kun, Sasuke-kun. Thank you for volunteering to babysit my daughter while my husband and I meet with your parents, Itachi-kun." She smiled gently as she ushered the younger Uchihas into the house._

_Hinata walked into the room and was immediately met with Sasuke. She squeaked and looked down after meeting his gaze and flinching._

"_This is my daughter, Hyuuga Hinata. I expect a good report when I return. Try not to break anything." Her mother spoke laughingly._

_Itachi turned his questioning gaze at the elder Hyuuga who was now grabbing her coat. "Hinata is a very shy girl. The last thing I would expect is a bad report or something broken when I come home." The girl's mother explained._

"_Are you ready to leave, dear?" Hiashi asked upon entering the room. His wife nodded her head and Hiashi proceeded to wish the children a good evening before leaving the house and locking the door behind him._

_Sasuke turned toward Hinata, who was still studying the floor. He reached up to her head and yanked on her hair making her squeak again. He grabbed another handful of her hair and pulled as hard as he could, making Hinata whimper._

"_Sasuke, stop that right now." Itachi said. "That's rude. I wouldn't be surprised if she hates you now."_

"_But all the other girls don't care!" Sasuke protested._

"_That's because they like you."_

"_That was mean Nii-san!" Sasuke turned away from his brother and pouted. _

_Itachi sighed. He looked down in surprise when something pulled gently on his cloak. "What is it, Hinata-san?" He asked gently, peering at her curiously._

"_A-arigatou, Itachi-san. For making Sasuke-san stop pulling my hair I mean." She bowed slightly when she finished her sentence then looked him in the eyes. She noticed they had changed from a the deep coal black colour to a blood red crimson. "What happened to your eyes?" She asked quietly._

_They had continued to talk all throughout their parent's dinner, almost completely ignoring Sasuke, who sat alone in the middle of the floor, playing with some of the toys he had brought along to the Hyuuga Compound. Hinata was sad to see Itachi leave, but her mother assured her that he would be babysitting her often from now on. _

_All she knew right then, as the Uchihas were leaving the Hyuuga Compound, was that she liked Itachi. He was nice to her and fun to talk to. She hated Sasuke. She would never forget how mean he was to her, and she would never admit to her hatred of him either._

**End Flashback**

Sasuke only chuckled, recalling one of the diary pages he had skipped over with that information on it. "You might not have ever considered it when we were younger, but do you regret anything you've done?"

"Only that I played dead and wasted four years of my life." Hinata smiled. "Nothing else. I am perfectly happy with my life as it is." Her eyes closed. "I love you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke watched her face as she spoke, and knew that every word she spoke was the truth. "I love you, too, Hinata-chan." He leaned toward her. Just as they were about to kiss, Miyu woke with a wail.

Hinata laughed at the pout on Sasuke's face and left to go comfort her daughter, knowing with all her heart she made the right choice, for it lead her to Sasuke, the man who pieced her shattered heart back together.

**(A/N: It's over! –cries- I can't believe it……So sorry about the horrible delay. I kept waiting for an inspiration, but one never came. I gave up and just started typing again, and all this just wrote itself…I can't believe I couldn't think of this earlier. I know it's not very long after that huge amount of time I made you wait, but I thought that if I didn't stop it there, I could never end it. Anyway, I'm going to do a side story oneshot to this about Hinata telling Hikari about her father's identity. Tell me if you think I should add in anything else or if you weren't satisfied with this ending, or you loved it, or whatever. Review please? **


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